A new kind of hero
by DarkCloud780
Summary: Basically, my second try at couples and adventure. This one is strange and I don't know how many people will like it. LinkXRuto for anyone interested in seeing how it turns out.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Horse riding trouble

Disclaimer: I do not own Link, Zelda, or any other Legend of Zelda characters. Nintendo does.

Link had always been wondering whether it was just coincidence that he was named after the hero of time or not, but he never dreamed that it would be this big of a deal when they found out. He went on with his normal day in the village right outside the Zora's Domain. The village prospered because of the water and the watch of the Zoras.

Link had merely gotten into his life as an eighteen year old and was ready to be considered a man. His uncle, Ron, was teaching him the tricks of the trade in ranch keeping. He and his uncle were natural born horse riders and Link was being taught how to ride one at this very moment one afternoon. However, his horse proved to be more than just stubborn at the moment.

"Giddyup, Link! What's the matter?" Ron called.

Link was calmly trying to get his horse to go, and was feeling something of annoyance building inside of him. He said, "Come on, Epona. Get moving. We need to help my uncle with these herds of goats."

Epona moved, but she turned around and began walking the other way. Link sighed and dug his heels into Epona's back. Epona neighed and reared, sending Link flying off onto the ground. Then, Epona began to make her way across the yard, with Link giving desperate chase. He kept calling, "Epona! Epona!"

Ron chuckled at this odd sight, and then rode forward to help stop the horse so Link could mount it. He slowed the horse to a stop and said, "This sure is a stubborn one. I may have to get you one that's easier to handle."

Link replied, "Nah...I can handle this, uncle. Don't put me with one that's easier, that takes away all the fun!"

He leaped back on and dug his heels into Epona's side. This time, when the horse reared, he kept a grip on the saddle. Problem was, it wasn't on right, and this time he fell off with the saddele underneath him. Epona ran off again and Link gave chase, this time sprinting at maximum speed.

Ron sighed and though, _Kids. It's all the same with them, even when they're men like he is. Oh well, lets see if he can catch this horse on foot._

Link did, and when he leaped on he neatly slid the saddle on and secured it. Then he began trying to steer Epona gently. It didn't work. He sighed and gave harder tugs and found that they worked easily. He began helping his uncle heard the goats into the barn, when Epona reared again in the middle of it. He grabbed the neck and managed to stay on, and then went back to guiding her.

They manged to get the goats into the barn and Epona seemed subdued. Link was tired and breathing hard, and Ron came up and said, "I think that's enough horsing around for the day."

Link grinned and asked, "You think?"

Ron chuckled and said, "Well, with that horse, I can say one thing. I know for sure that you're more than just a good horse wrangler. You're a-"

His comment was cut off when Epona suddenly bucked Link off in front of her. Link flew forward screaming, and hit his head against a rock. Ron sighed and said, "Dang, but is this horse stubborn and tough. I'll just have to get Link on it every day and tell him to handle her rough. That'll teach it a lesson."

He grabbed her reins and guided her off, sure that Link was alright. Link got up and shook his head to clear his vision. He called, "Hey, wait up, uncle!"

He ran after him and was just walked beside the horses all the way back to his house. Ron asked, "You sure you want to handle this horse?"

Link beamed and said, "Ha! I'll show this horse tomorrow. Don't worry about that."

Ron laughed and said, "That's my boy! You show this girl and make sure that she knows who's boss around here."

Link said, "I will, and I'm sure that she'll be cooperative after I'm done with her."

Ron said, "You show her, Link. Anyways, have a good night's sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

Ron left on his horse and Link clambered up into his house. He laid down on the bed and for a while just sat there staring at the ceiling. He wondered just how important his job was, and began imagining all of the achievements he could make. He dozed off shortly after, his face still beaming with the thought of wrangling that tough horse. He had always wanted a horse that stubborn, and was ready to make her cooperate, no matter how much effort it took. That is, if it took any effort at all after today.

Another story already going. I'm going to work at this one and it is going to be long...somewhere around thirty chapters is what I'm going to push for. Anyways, please review and tell me how I did. If it helps, it will make this story come faster.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Meeting with the princess of the zoras

Note: I got a new idea for something that I will use in this story. Don't worry, it won't be too bad, and might actually make things a little comedic later on. Just a quick heads up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda!

Link awoke early the next morning and looked out his front door to see the most amazing sight. There was no horse! He leaped out of the window and rolled on the ground to avoid breaking his legs. He began looking around frantically and called out, "Epona! Where are you? Epona!"

He ran out and began looking for her frantically. He found his uncle attempting to ride Epona and beginning to fail. Link sighed in relief and ran over to help. Ron called, "Link, stop this girl!"

Link gave a shrill whistle and Epona came trotting over. Ron finally managed to safely disembark and said, "Well, that's how tough she is. Now that I know, I know why you had so much trouble yesterday."

Link laughed and said, "Yeah, I would think so. Hey, uncle. Do you think maybe I could just take her for a spin?"

Ron shook his head and said, "Not today, kid. I'm afraid that the Zora have issued a law stating that no one under the age of twenty five may leave this town. It's for safety purposes because of monsters appearing outside town recently."

Link sighed and said, "Great, now I can't take her anywhere I want to."

Ron said, "I know, it sucks. Heck, even the ranch may be off limits. The king is going to discuss it with me and his daughter is coming with."

Link rolled his eyes and said, "I know it's for safety, but this is utterly maddening. How will we be able to make money on our ranch if they shut it down?"

Ron said, "That's what I'm going to figure out."

Ron walked off to go meet with the king and Link just sat there, wishing there was something he could do. Suddenly, he got an idea and walked back to his house to get his wooden sword. He got it out and came out into the open to start practicing against the air. Little did he realize that even now, princess had just glanced over to see him performing this.

Curious, she walked over to watch as he swung at nothing. He wasn't the best sword fighter, but he didn't seem to care. She asked, "What are you doing over there?"

Link glanced over and said, "Oh, nothing, princess. Just practicing with my wooden sword and waiting for my uncle to come back."

The princess asked, "Is it fun?"

Link shook his head and said, "Not really. I don't even know how to sword fight."

The princess said, "Ah...that's a bummer. So, I think my father and your uncle have began to talk about the ranch."

Link swung his sword a few more times before saying, "Yeah, because we don't want to lose our main way of making a living."

The princess said, "I think my father will let you guys. It's not fair to have to lose your way of making a living because of some law."

Link said, "I know."

Link continued swinging when the princess asked, "What's your name?"

Link's sword stopped dead in the air, and he replied, "Um...Link. Why?"

The princess said, "Ah...no reason. My name's Ruto. It's nice to meet you."

Link continued swinging at thin air again, and then suddenly asked, "So...what fascinates you about me swinging at nothing?"

Ruto said, "Oh, nothing. Anyways, I'm just going to go on to check this town out."

For the first time, Link actually looked over at her. He had been around Zoras so much that they weren't strange at all to him. To him, she actually seemed, strangely beautiful. He couldn't help but stare as she just walked off, and then shook his head to keep from straining his eyes out from following her movements.

He sighed and said, "Oh well. Back to training we..."

He heard a loud screech come from where she had walked off. He quickly ran there and found that monsters had come into the town. They were moblins, small green gnomes with beady red eyes and pointy ears. They were walking towards Ruto threateningly. Suddenly, Link leaped between them and Ruto.

One said, "Step aside, boy. Or else."

Link snorted and said, "Yeah, and what do you think you can do to me?"

That moblin stepped back in surprise, and then the other one walked towards him, holding a small club with a nail poking out of one side. It said, "Step aside and you won't get hurt."

It stepped one step closer and Link suddenly swung, hitting it in the jaw. It recoiled in surprise and Link lead the attack. He hit it again on the other side of its jaw, and then stabbed it in the midriff, knocking the wind out of it. Then he brought his blade and brought it down upon the moblin's head so hard that it collapsed to the ground.

He then turned around and put his sword in the way of the other ones club. He kicked it to the ground and then ran up and lifted it up from the back of the neck. He said, "Run now, or die."

He threw the moblin to the ground and it got up and ran. At this point, all of the other moblins had been routed by the humans and the zoras. Ruto said, "Thanks, Link! I didn't think anyone was going to help!"

Link sheathed his sword and said, "No problem. I just have a knack for helping those that need it."

He began walking off when Ruto saw a symbol on his hand. "You're the hero of time!" she exclaimed.

He stopped short and asked, "Why would you think that?"

Ruto pointed to his left hand. He looked at it and then exclaimed "What the heck?! What is this doing in my hand?!"

He stared in awe and wonder at this strange symbol that had appeared on his hand suddenly. He had never seen it there before, but now he did, plain as day. The symbol of the Triforce of Courage. He asked, "How did it get there?"

He heard footsteps and Ron came up and asked, "Hey, Link. What's going on? Did you get a cut?"

Then he saw the Triforce symbol and said, "What the heck?!"

Link said, "I think its been there the whole time. I'm not sure why it didn't show up before, though."

Ruto said, "That means you're the hero of time. That means that you're the one we've been waiting for to help us against these monsters."

Link shook his head and said, "No, I don't know how to fight. The only reason I beat those moblins is because they weren't that strong."

Ron said, "Yeah, but they knew how to fight. So do you, you just don't know it."

Link began to become worried that they were going to send him out directly. He said, "I'm not ready to fight yet!"

Ruto saw the way he was acting and said, "You know, maybe we should give him time to think. I don't think he's ready for anything that we might expect of him right now. Then again, none of the heroes were at first."

Link turned to her and said, "Thanks. It's like she said. I'm not ready to go out there right now."

Ron thought this over for a moment, and then said, "Okay, I'll give you some time to think. Come up with your decision later. By the way, the king agreed to let us keep our ranch."

Link's eyes brightened and he asked, "Did he really?"

Ron nodded and then added with a smile, "He's even access into the domain itself at any time we want."

Link's jaw dropped with surprise. To be let into the domain, that was something that he had only dreamed before. Now it was a reality, and he almost thought it was just too great to be real. He said, "Alright, now I really have to think things over. This is all getting crazy."

He walked away and Ruto asked Ron, "Have you told my father?"

Ron shook his head and said, "Not yet. I'll go notify him about this right away."

He ran off, leaving Ruto standing there alone. She looked back at where Link where was walking off and said, "I don't know...he's different. I think I might like him."

She walked off back to the domain, hoping to get a well deserved rest. She couldn't keep her thoughts off of Link. The fact that he was the hero of time, his timely arrival for her in a time of need, and his surprise that he was the hero. He wasn't as handsome as some. His hair was fairly messy and his clothes were dirty from work on the ground. But she had his image vividly in her head and she couldn't help but be beaming the entire time she was there.

Link was having the same thoughts. He couldn't get Ruto out of his head. There she had been, watching him swing at air with curiosity,


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: A real sword and shield

"Come on, Link! You can fight better than that!" he heard his trainer call. He had been training for hours, no, days now in the ways of the sword. Its heavy weight had become nothing to him, and he learned to wield it with ease, but he did not know most of the basic sword skills. These were what he was being taught right now.

His trainer, a zora that had been practicing these arts for a long time, was trying his best not go to hard on Link, but the more potential he showed, the more that the trainer pushed him. Already, Link felt he was at the level of an able swordsman. He asked, "Can't we postpone this? I'm getting worn out!"

The zora shook his head and said, "No, we have to continue. You have to learn how to hold out in long battles. Who knows when you might end up in one?"

They continued, and in the meanwhile Ruto was undergoing her warrior lessons. "Steady now, princess. Don't lose your balance. Remember, if you are going to help Link, then you must be able to at least fight competently. I still think that the idea of sending you out into danger with him is preposterous."

Ruto felt like she was going to collapse at this rate. Her muscles ached from swinging heavy metal and feeling it hit against an equally strong force. The light armor she wore felt heavy on her, and she said, "Its hard to keep my balance when I feel like everything on me is heavy."

The trainer said, "Well, then I think I've trained you enough for today."

Ruto stood up and said, "I'm going to change into my new combat suit, the one that was actually meant for combat."

Her trainer, a tall zora with a kind face and green eyes, replied, "Alright. Meet out at the pool of the domain. Link's only getting one suit from us, but that's because we haven't finished the other. Let him know when we do."

Ruto walked off to her room to change. She dragged her feet through the hallway, unable to keep her mind off of Link. She arrived at her room and just before she passed through the curtains that veiled the entrance though aloud, "I wonder if he likes me?"

She suddenly seemed aware that her words seemed to echo in the hallway and quickly slipped in, embarrassed that she let her thought slip out of her mouth. She gratefully removed her current armor and began to get on her new set. It was golden plated, although really made out of strong coral, the main material that Zoras used for armor instead of iron. It was also very, very lightweight.

It was about as strong as steel and was far more frequent than iron or steel. The problem was that it was exceedingly hard to even form into the shape wanted without shattering it in the process. Because of this, full suits of body armor were very rare. Generally, zora soldiers only wore a head piece, gloves, and boots made out of this material. Everywhere else was covered by cloth or leather.

Ruto, however, had been given the honor of a full suit of armor. This one did not have any cleavage in it, for the zoras did not want their princess to be showing parts that she would not want seen. When she put it on, it fit perfectly and showed her curves. The helmet...was missing. She had requested no helmet, and so got none. She stood up, now completely covered in this armor that seemed to flex almost perfectly except for in a few locations that really bugged her, one being her neck.

"They're going to have to get that fixed..." she muttered.

Meanwhile, Link had ended his training and was sent back to his room. There, he stripped off the training armor he had and sighed in relief. He was panting hard, sweat trickling down his face and chest. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest, and he was exceedingly hot. He muttered, "It's time for an actual bath. I have to look as presentable as possible."

He ran the water and while waiting for it to heat up, he put the soaps that he was given on the side. Then his thoughts turned to Ruto. There she was, standing by the fence again in his mind, just watching with curiosity as he swung at nothing. Her smile, her beautiful sapphire colored eyes that shimmered in the light, the silkiness of the dress she wore.

_Why am I thinking about her at a time like this? I know I'm going to meet her again, but why can't I stop thinking about her? It's like...I'm attached to her, in a way. I can't stop thinking about her..._he thought.

He thought aloud suddenly, "I wonder if she's thinking about me?"

He was aware that it echoed throughout his room because he said it so loud. He looked around really quick to make sure that no one else heard him. Then, he slipped into the tub and quickly turned the water off. He sighed and said, "Today is going to weird. I wonder what Ruto will think of me when I come out..."

He began to look at the room around him, taking in the scene. The walls were moss covered stone, as was the ceiling. The roof had several long strands of moss hanging down, one of which actually touched the surface of the water that Link was in. As he began scrubbing himself with the soaps, he looked across the room to the table on which his new uniform was set. All he could see was the green tunic at the moment.

After he was finished, he stood up, dried himself off, and then let the water drain. He walked over and picked up his tunic. He stared at it, and as he felt how light it was, he began to wonder what this was woven out of. It wasn't a normal material, but rather as his hand felt it, he could feel something of a very lightweight chain mail built into it. He slipped on the undergarments first and then pushed himself into the armored tunic.

He felt that it fit him perfectly, and it was warm and cozy. He remembered that the zoras had told him that it would adapt to the temperature around him and make him feel the same all the time. He would feel this same kind of moderate and welcoming temperature no matter where he was, even inside a volcano or out in a freezing blizzard.

He fit on the rest of his equipment, which included light leather boots, a well crafted steel sword and a rather heavy metal shield. He took a moment to examine the designs of the shield. There was the Triforce, built into it as a symbol of balance. Then, there seemed to be several red lines curving across it, some seeming to point towards the Triforce.

"Wow, this is a nice shield. I'll have to thank whoever gave this to me. Now, where did I have to meet?" he wondered.

He walked out of his room and found his trainer, in full body suit of chain mail, standing right outside. His face had a smile on it, something that Link rarely saw. He asked, "Are you ready to meet the princess again?"

Link shrugged and then said, "I guess I'm more ready now than I'll ever be. Let's go."

His trainer led him through a series of intricate hallways that seemed to blend in to one another. Link doubted that he could ever find his way back to this wondrous room again after he was done there. As they walked on, his eyes began to nod off from seeing what felt like the same thing over and over and over again. He finally just took to staring at the at least changing patterns on the floor as he walked to keep himself awake.

They finally arrived at the main room and Link breathed a sigh of relief. Link then asked, "What room is this, exactly?"

The trainer replied, "This is the entrance. Ruto has decided to go with you on any journey that you may have to undertake."

Link seemed confused and asked, "What journey is there to undertake?"

The trainer replied, "That's up to you, Link."

They walked out and Link stopped for a moment, his jaw dropping in amazement at what he saw. This was the real entrance, although there was another entrance more near where his town was, this was the place where most everyone came in, and it was a beauty. Here, there was a grand pool in the middle that connected to the main river of Hyrule that eventually flowed east all the way to Lake Hylia.

The chamber itself was open to the sun and other elements, meaning it wouldn't be so pleasing in rain. This touch, however, showed off all of the beautiful elements in it. Crystals that had been embedded in the walls for longer than history itself shone brilliantly in different colors, making the wall seem to come alive in a mixture of rainbow. The lake bottom also had these, making the water itself seem to be multi-colored and magical. There were currently three floating rocks on it. One had the king, the other had the princess whom Link could not quite see, and the last one was still docked against the shore, waiting for Link to step into it.

He stepped onto it along with his trainer and the zora gave it a kick from the land over to the king. It drifted for a while, and then stopped right before the king himself. Link bowed, and the king said, "Arise, hero. Now, there is much to discuss."

Ruto said, "Yes, there is something dreadful that has happened."

Link glanced over and for a moment said nothing. There she was, clad in her golden armor, with a small sword at her side. The armor fit her so perfectly that he could clearly see the curves in her body. For a moment, he just wondered how she had attained such a wonderful figure, and then commented, "You're beautiful."

This caught Ruto's attention, who glanced over with a wonder in her eyes. She asked, "Am I really?"

Link couldn't help but smile as he said, "You fit in with this wondrous room perfectly."

She smiled and said, "Well, I see you've also done your best to look handsome."

She found herself looking at him now, examining him. There he was, clad in the green of the fields, with a sword and an ancient shield strapped to his back. He was tall, with nearly perfectly combed hair at the moment, and those deep blue, compassionate eyes that had met hers back in the town. She almost found herself lost in them until her father said something that caught her attention again.

"Now, as you may or may not know, you two have been chosen to pair up in the battles. The main reason being is that you both have wanted to be warriors for quite some time, and I think that learning to work as a pair will go further than just sending you both alone," he said.

Link said, "Yes, I heard about that. So, what has happened?"

Ruto said, "There is something wrong in Lake Hylia, something dreadfully wrong. Jabu-Jabu went there to investigate, but has not yet come back. We zoras are concerned about this and have asked both of us for our assistance. I am willing to help, for these are my people that might possibly be in danger."

The king asked, "The decision is up to you as to whether or not you wish to go."

Link met the gaze from Ruto and for a moment lost himself in her eyes. That lovely blue, almost like a brilliant sunburst gem, shone in the sun and stared almost unblinkingly back at him. Almost without thinking, he said, "I'm also going to help."

Ruto smiled, and that smile made Link feel somewhat happy and warm. There was something charming about Ruto that he was just beginning to see. The king smiled wide and said, "That's the spirit. Remember, no one yet knows about you, really. When we mentioned the triforce, not many knew about it. The people back at your home town still wonder where you have gone."

Link said, "Speaking of which, may I go back and get my horse to travel all the way to the lake? I need some mode of transportation, as I cannot swim."

The king said, "A very logical question. I will have your current trainer guide you back home and from there you must take your horse and follow the river east. That is the only way you will be able to find the lake at the moment, as there will be no need for a map. Be careful, though. There are monsters lurking on the ground above the river, and they will not prove to be easy."

Link said, "Very well. Ruto, I will meet you near the shore of Lake Hylia. Just make sure to stay out somewhere where I can at least find you."

Ruto flipped backward into the water and popped out to call, "Count on it!"

She dove down into the water and Link's trainer began paddling the boat back. Link asked, "By the way, what's your name? I've only referred to you as trainer or nothing at all."

The zora laughed and said, "Call me Zihark. Thank you for being at least curious after all this time."

They reached the shore and Zihark said, "Alright, follow me and I'll take you back to your village. I would recommend stopping by some of the houses to say goodbye to your friends and family."

Link said, "Don't worry, I will. I'll come right back here after I'm done with my task unless something else pops up."

Zihark said "Don't take too long, Link. Remember, your adventure is just beginning. Don't try to do more than you can handle and for goodness sakes stay as safe as possible."

Link smiled and replied, "Alright, I will. Thanks for the advice."

Zihark patted him on the shoulder and said, "You will make a fine warrior when the time comes."

He began to lead him back through the hardly ever changing passages and Link found himself staring at the tiled floor once again to make sure that he didn't fall asleep. It was right then that he ever noticed that it was tiled and wondered why he had not noticed this before.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: What's wrong with the lake?

Link rode out of the barn, now covered in hay from trying to wrestle Epona out of the stable. He sighed and said, "So much for being clean. I wonder how Ruto's going to act?"

He trotted his horse out, trying to clean the hay out of its white mane and at the same time make sure it didn't head the wrong way. Ron came out and when he saw Link asked, "Make a enough of a mess trying to get that horse out, Link?"

Link sighed and asked, "Can you not bring it up, uncle?"

Ron chuckled and said, "You know, I'm proud of you. You've grown."

Link looked down at his uncle. His black, swarthy beard and long black hair along with the blue shirt and jeans that he wore made him almost look like his father had been. Link only vaguely remembered his father, and he could only see the image that almost looked like his uncle now. He had been a warrior as well, though he had perished due to a strange accident. No one in his family, especially not three year old him that day, knew what had caused it. Hell, no one knew. All they knew was that he was dead, and that was that.

He smiled and said, "Thanks for sticking out for me all this time, uncle. I really appreciate it."

Ron said, "Link, I always will be around for you. You make sure to come back here with that horse after you're done, you got me? I don't want to be losing you to some stupid accident just like what happened with your father."

Link said, "I won't, uncle Ron. I promise."

He stepped off of the horse and gave a hug to his uncle, knowing that this was probably the last time he would see him in a long time. Ron said, "Come back alive. You hear me, boy? That's an order from your own uncle."

Link replied, "I'll come back, and I'll come back a hero."

He turned around to get on Epona, and the horse was nowhere to be found. He looked around and found it trotting back up back towards the barn. He ran after it, calling "Wait up!"

Ron laughed and said, "Boy, that Link sure has a lot to learn about this horse."

After a few seconds, he came galloping by, leaving Ron just standing there, watching with pride as the boy that he had taken care of for so long rode off to be the responsible young man he was supposed to be. Link rode on for a long while and it was nighttime when he reached the lake. He disembarked and then tied his horse to a rock nearby to make sure that he didn't lose it. He then walked out and took a moment to survey his surroundings.

He didn't see Ruto immediately, though his eyes weren't searching for her at the moment. Instead, they were gazing across the water, and they didn't reflect any of the moonlight at all. It was like the water was dead, the magic gone from them for some mysterious reason. He wondered what was going on, because in everything he had read, the lake always shimmered, at night and in the day.

Now, his eyes began scanning the shoreline for Ruto. He instantly picked out her armored figure along the shore and called, "Ruto! I'm here!"

The figure turned and he heard Ruto's voice call, "Link! It's about time!"

He ran down to the shore and said, "Sorry I took so long. My horse was being stubborn again."

Ruto took a good look at him and asked, "Is that...straw?"

Link nodded and said, "Yeah, my horse and I had a little disagreement in the stables while I was trying to get it out."

Ruto giggled and said, "Well, then maybe it's time to get a different horse, silly."

Link said, "No, my horse at least listens to me fairly well most of the time. But when I'm not supervising it, it tends to run off on me."

Ruto looked behind him and asked, "Like now?"

Link turned around and saw his horse wandering around on the land away from where he had tied it up. He sighed and asked, "What's the point in tying it up if it is just going to get free and roam on its own? I suppose I'll let it wander for now..."

Ruto asked, "By the way, why the comments back there? Did you not realize that you had my father in front of you?"

Link seemed confused, as he had been too lost to even realize that he was making such comments. He asked, "What comments?"

Ruto sighed and said, "Maybe that's why his father didn't notice. Had he, he would have been telling you something different right then. Then again, I barely heard you mutter it, so I felt compelled to reply."

Link felt his heart begin to get heavy as he began thinking of what consequences this might hold. He asked, "He was right there when I said that?"

Ruto nodded and then added, "He even noticed that you said it. He said nothing, though. I don't know why, but he didn't seem to mind that much."

Link sighed and said, "I hope I don't get a lecturing from his because of that."

Ruto said, "Link, I don't think he will. In fact, I don't think he cared. My father never did pay attention to small matters like these. That's one thing that I found lacking in him. If something wasn't important enough to him, he never said anything. Now, had it been someone like Zihark who had been king, then he would have said something to you about the comments you made back there."

Link began to remember what was said and then told her, "You commented on my looks as well. That might have caught his attention. I remember Zihark teasing me about that as I walked down those hallways to the other exit."

Suddenly, something splashed into the water, causing Link to turn his head in that direction. The water wasn't still, there was a ripple going through, and it was pretty big. Link said, "Alright, I think we may have found our threat. Have you tried going into the water to see what's inside?"

Ruto pulled out her sword and replied, "Yes, but it is too foggy underwater from all of the mud to see. Something has been kicking it up, especially in the region of the water temple itself."

Link said, "Yeah, and that thing is watching us. Wait...didn't Jabu-Jabu come here?"

Ruto thought for a moment, and then replied, "Now that you mention it, he did. I wonder how he's doing?"

Link squinted out across the water, and when he momentarily saw nothing said, "Hang on, I'm going to have a look. You stay here on the shore."

Link ran and dove into the water. He opened his eyes and found that it was way too mudded up to see in the water. He squinted, and then he did see something, though it wasn't what he wanted to see. Jabu-Jabu rose up in front of him with eyes that were glowing an eerie red. He breathed out involuntarily and then tried to swim up to the surface.

He managed, but felt a powerful sucking sensation pulling him towards Jabu-Jabu. He called, "I think I know what's wrong with the lake! It's Jabu-Jabu being...ahhhh!"

He was sucked down under the water and Ruto ran forward, calling, "Link! Link!"

She caught a glimpse of a fish moving away from the spot and assumed that Link had been eaten. She stared in disbelief, and then leaped into the water to pursue this fish to the best of her ability. Whatever it was, she wasn't about to let it get away with swallowing a person like it did. She found that it left a clear trail of where it had went, allowing her to easily follow it through the mucky waters. She did so, hoping that she could catch up with it and stop it.

Link managed to catch a flap of skin before falling down into the actual digestive system of this huge fish. He stared down at the acids below and about let go when he smelled the horrid smell that rose up from there. He looked around, hoping to find some sort of a landing he could get onto. He saw that there was a recently made hole directly above him that seemed to be coated with something sticky. Daring to move up, he grabbed the sticky substance and found that he could cling to it. He began forcing himself up the wall it was on, hoping to find the source of what was possessing Jabu-Jabu before Ruto killed it and permanently sealed his way out.

He reached the top and found a dark figure right near the brain holding an orb to it. He was saying things to it, making it move accordingly. _I have to stop him before he kills Ruto._ Link thought.

He stood up and walked up to the figure, calling, "Stop this madness at once!"

The figure turned around and Link gasped. It looked almost exactly like him. It said, "Hello, hero. I assume you've come to try and kill me?"

Link took a few more steps back and about fell down into the stomach again. He manged to regain his balance and, seeing that there was no other option, pulled out his sword and replied, "Yes, and I will stop you from controlling Lord Jabu-Jabu. What you are doing is wrong and cannot be forgiven."

The dark Link pulled out his shadowy blade and said, "Well, if you are as new of a hero as they say, then I shouldn't even need my shield to beat you, even if you have one."

Link gritted his teeth and thought, _I'm in for it now..._

The dark Link charged at him, sword poised in the air for a stab. Link put his shield up, knocking the blow aside easily. He then thrust right outside of his shield, hitting the dark Link in the stomach. The sword went through, and the dark Link fell. Link pulled his sword out and said, "You shouldn't have underestimated me."

The dark Link was panting now, as if from an extreme exhaustion. He stood up and looked Link in the eye. Link asked, "Still not dead?"

The dark Link laughed. Link poised his sword back in the ready position. The dark Link then said, "You've won this time, Link, but I'll be back with even more power than before. You'll see, and then when you do, you'll die."

He floated out of the fish and suddenly Link found himself standing in the mouth of Jabu-Jabu. The mouth opened and a huge force exhaled him out onto the land. He landed heavily on his shield arm, actually dislocating it. Ruto came out of the water when she saw Link come out of this fish, and she swam towards the shore frantically to help Link if he was injured. By the time she arrived on the shore, Link had managed to push his arm back into the place.

She ran up asking, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Link shook his head and said, "No, and I'm lucky for that. I about fell into the his stomach, and then I discovered a dark version of myself near the brain, controlling him."

Ruto asked, "A dark version of yourself? But then that means..."

"If it was a dark Link, then that can only mean one thing," Jabu-Jabu said.

Link began thinking, and then the horrible thought occurred to him and he said, "I know what it is."

Ruto asked, "What do you think?"

Link replied gravely, "There is no one in Hyrule that can do this except the king of all evil. His name...is Ganon."

_**Finally! Another chapter down and I'm getting into this! I am now doing Bold Italics to put my notes separate from all of the rest of the chapter. Hope you like this improvisation! :)**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Reporting to the kings of Hyrule

When Link revealed his suspicion, word went out to all of the other kings of Hyrule almost immediately. Link was told that he and Ruto would have to report their finding in public to the kings and they would have to discuss the possibility of Ganon really being alive again. Link didn't seem to enthused and said that he would come out when summoned, but that he was extremely uneasy about it. He then left to his room, having finally learned the halls because of the tiles.

He went into his room and threw off the shirt of his clothing. He was sweating because of the frenzy with which he had run to make it to main chamber when Ruto did. His horse had to be stowed in the stable, and he had a hard time even getting it in. He had to greet his uncle again and tell him that it wasn't over and then he had to memorize the hallways by running through them and getting lost about three hundred times. Although Ruto had stayed behind to talk with Jabu-Jabu, Link was still hard pressed to get into the chamber at even around the same time as Ruto.

He now smiled at himself in the reflection and said, "Well, now we know that I can be a warrior and perhaps a hero. Jabu-Jabu cleaned the waters, and I'm sure that they're fine now. I'm still confused about meeting that dark Link, though. Why didn't he die? I mean, I stabbed him right in the heart! Most creatures die when their heart is stabbed."

"Not all, Link," he heard Zihark say.

Link didn't even turn to face him, instead saying to his reflection, "I suppose that shadow beings are impossible to destroy. I'm not sure, but I think that since they are made of magic it is impossible to kill them."

Zihark said, "Not all shadow creatures are indestructible. Only powerful ones like that Shadow Link you fought. By "killing" them, you only really make them exhaust all of their power. You can weaken them by doing such a thing several times, but you cannot truly kill them. There was once a weapon that could do such a thing, but it has been lost over these years."

Link turned to him now and asked, "What was that weapon?"

Zihark replied, "I only really learned this when I was a child. There was once a blade of evils bane that was so powerful that one touch from it could annihilate most shadow creatures. It was lost in the deserts far to the north of here and has never been found since. Rumors have it that it has been found in the Lost Woods, or at least seen but never recovered."

Link asked, "So, do you think that such a rumor is true?"

Zihark folded his arms across his chest and replied, "I'm not sure what I believe anymore. Believing has cost me more than most other people. Therefore, I don't believe in hardly anything anymore."

Zihark began leaving when Link commented, "That's weird. Why don't you believe in anything?"

Zihark sighed and said, "That, Link, is a story for another day."

He left, leaving Link just standing there watching where he had left. He began to wonder what Zihark had experienced in his past, almost leading him to want to follow Zihark out and press him about the matter. However, Link knew better than to pester his trainer about such things, and Zihark had quite a temper if someone were to press him on about something that he didn't want to talk about. Link had almost made that mistake, and had only barely escaped his wrath. Others weren't as lucky and often left his service because they were afraid of angering him by just being in his presence. Link had learned his lesson well.

Link put the shirt of his tunic back on and walked out, following the hallways to the main room. He wondered if Ruto would be there, and also if the Zora king would mention anything about the comments. He began to feel wary, feeling that something was out of the ordinary suddenly. He couldn't quite place his tongue on it, but he began to feel the presence of something evil lurking in the shadows near him, watching him from almost every direction.

"Maybe it is just my imagination," he said to reassure himself. However, he didn't feel very reassured by those words. As he walked down the hallways, he kept glancing behind him to make absolutely sure that nothing was following him. He began to get worried that something bad was going to happen, and soon he became sure that something bad was going to happen. He lost his way through the hallways and came to a dead end.

He turned around and found himself face to face with something that he had never seen before, and chilled him to the bone when he saw it. It was a tall beast made purely out of shadow, with fiery eyes that glared at him through empty sockets. It had a large mouth with dirty teeth covered in blood. It was on all fours and seemed ready to pounce. However, Link found that if he didn't move, it didn't move. It seemed to be waiting for the slightest motion before it pounced.

After about five minutes of scarcely breathing and beginning to need air, the creature's tongue lolled out and Link barely restrained a gasp. It was forked like a serpent. Link saw the body tense, and then he tensed with it. Suddenly, it leaped towards him, but Link had tensed with it, and rolled under it. He turned around and whipped out his sword. It couldn't turn around, apparently its face was stuck in the wall and it could not get it out.

Link took this chance to leap onto its back and crawl up to the neck. There, he stabbed his sword in as deep as he could. It bellowed loudly for a moment, and then began to vanish. Link got off of it in time to avoid falling flat onto his face. He watched the rest of it disappear and said to himself, "What was that? It was like...whatever. I have to tell the kings that the Shadow Link might actually be trying to kill me indirectly now. I had hoped that he wouldn't haunt me like this."

He finally came out into the main chamber to find the kings conversing. They had been invited to this chamber in particular, and so here they were, discussing the fact that the King of Evil might still be alive. Link walked out just in time to hear Ruto call, "Darunia! I don't care what you think about the hero of time being fake! He is-"

"Listen, princess of the Zoras! The hero of time has not existed for over three thousand years and neither has the king of evil!" he heard the goron king say.

The Zora king said, "Now is not the time to be arguing, Darunia! The hero of time will show himself shortly, and then he will tell you what is going on."

Link stepped out into the open along the shore and Ruto called, "See? There he is, standing on the shore!"

He saw Darunia look over and frown. He said, "If claim to be the hero of time, then you'd better have a good reason for it!"

Link said, "I'm not sure whether or not I am the hero of time or not, but I do know I possess the Triforce of Courage."

Darunia began laughing. Apparently, he thought that the whole idea was ridiculous. Link sighed and leaped into the water. He swam behind Ruto's small boat and climbed into the back of it with her. Darunia asked, "And what do you think you are doing? Getting into the boat of the Zora princess without her permission? I would think that her father-"

The Zora king said, "Silence, please! I have noticed that he has chosen that boat, and I am not bothered by such a thing. I have also noticed that they have both taken a particular liking to each other and even that does not bother me. What bothers me is that you are yelling at your future hero!"

Link blushed slightly when the king revealed the fact that he did like her. He managed to recompose himself and said, "Alright, if you want proof that I have the Triforce, then behold!"

He lifted up his left hand and the Triforce shone on it for all to see. There was an audible gasp from the other two as well as the ambassadors that were with the King of Hyrule. Link for the first time beheld his true king, Daphen Nohanson Hyrule, in person. He lowered his hand and then bowed to Daphnes.

Daphnes said, "Arise, hero. I was willing to believe that you existed, but was not sure until you came up here. Now, I see that you are indeed the hero destined to save our land from the sudden darkness that has pervaded this land."

Link stood up and said nothing. Darunia seemed to soften up a bit and said, "I'm sorry. I did not believe that the hero could come back. My father had always told me that he never would."

Ruto told him, "Well, I guess he was wrong, for he stands beside me now."

She whispered, "Link, will you meet me at the top of the waterfall tonight?"

Link found himself whispering, "Yes," in reply. He was aware that no one had caught the fact that they had whispered between each other and was slightly relieved.

Daphnes asked, "So, Link, what is this about Ganondorf having returned? How did you find this out?"

Link replied, "I met a shadowy version of myself at the lake, and it tried to kill me. It left not saying a word, but Jabu-Jabu confirmed that only Ganondord was capable of summoning such things. Also, the reason I was late is this. A shadow creature lured me into a dead end and tried to kill me there. I barely avoided its attack and sank my sword into its neck. It died and left no trace except a hole in the wall where its head had gotten stuck."

Darunia seemed surprised and said, "By the goddesses. This is getting more and more serious even as we speak. Ganondorf must have already found out about the hero and is doing everything in his power to destroy him."

The zora king said, "That could be bad. I'm not sure what is going on, but if Ganondorf is hunting down the hero of time, then he will also set traps for him to be lured into. I am not sure what form these traps will be in, but I can be sure that they-"

A huge rumbling suddenly occurred. Link felt the boat beginning to tremble and then he looked up to see Death Mountain erupting. His eyes went wide as he saw a flaming rock come down straight at him and Ruto. Reacting as fast as he could, he pushed Ruto and himself down into the water, narrowly avoiding the rock. The rock smashed the boat into pieces, and for a moment, the Zora king stared in disbelief, thinking that his daughter and the hero might have perished.

Suddenly, they both emerged from under the water. Link swam back to shore and helped Ruto onto it. He stared up at the mountain that was so close and commented, "I didn't know that the mountain was really that close to the Domain!"

Darunia said, "My mountain has never had a chance of erupting before. Something is amiss."

Link asked, "How do we deal with it?"

Darunia asked, "Link, I know that you are not ready for what might come, but are you willing to help us?"

Link would have normally backed off and said, "No", but he didn't. Instead, something gave him the courage to say, "Yes, I will come and aid you."

Ruto seemed surprised, and then said, "Then I'm going with you. I'm not about to let you get killed this early on."

The Zora king said, "Wait, Ruto. If you go, then you will not survive the heat. It is so enormous inside that mountain that hardly anything can survive."

Darunia said, "Zilax is right. Without the proper protection, no human, let alone a Zora, can survive in there. We will have to build special armor for both of you so that you can survive up there."

Link asked, "How long will it take?"

Darunia shrugged and said, "Depending on the working ability of our blacksmiths, it could take from a few days to a month. I will come back with them full prepared. In the meantime, I suggest that the other kings here do their best to protect these lands from the monsters on the outside. Link and Ruto, just rest until I get you your armor. Now, we must go."

Link watched as the others left, and then Ruto reminded him, "Be there, alright?"

Link turned to her as she walked off, smiling. Link smiled back at her, and then wondered if what he was doing was really such a good idea. This was a princess, not a commoner like himself. He sighed and thought,_ Oh well, what's stopping me? I'll keep my promise and we'll see where it goes._

He walked off back to his room, confident that he would be fine. He went back to his room and found Zihark there. Zihark said, "I see that you've fallen for Ruto. I wouldn't recommend going any further with that relationship, though."

Link seemed startled that he knew, and then Zihark said, "Don't be surprised. I heard your comments from the boat. Now, just don't get too involved with her. Her father has already made plans for her."

He walked off and Link found himself a little irritated at Zihark. He said, "You're just jealous."

Zihark turned upon him sharply and about hit Link on the side of the face with his arm. Link blocked, and Zihark said, "Don't push me, student. I'm telling you this for your own good. You are a commoner, and she is royalty. Neither of those is meant to get together with each other, now stop pushing it before you break a severe rule in the king's book."

He walked off, hoping that his words had influenced Link. Link had taken little heed of those words, however, instead wondering what had gotten into Zihark. He usually did not act this way. Link asked himself, "Why is he acting strange? I've certainly never seen him do this. Well, one way way or another, I'm going to meet Ruto up top, or I'm going to have her very disappointed."

_**As always, please submit your reviews so I can know what you think. The next chapter will be the first big talk between Link and Ruto. Hope you like the conversation they strike up.**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: A meeting with the princess

It seemed to be days before night finally fell over the kingdom of Hyrule. Just as he promised, he climbed up to the top of the waterfall and waited for Ruto to show up. She did, swimming rapidly up the waterfall. She swam up and climbed out of the water on the shore next to him. He beheld her now in a beautiful blue dress that seemed to shimmer because of the crystals put inside.

Link commented, "Your dress looks like it was modeled after the night sky."

Ruto smiled and said, "It was. It was made by my mother."

Link asked, "Where is your mother, anyways? I've never seen her around before."

Ruto's smile vanished and she said, "My mother...I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about it."

Link thought for a moment before saying, "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."

They sat there for a bit, and then Link asked, "How did you end up becoming a warrior? Most women don't become warriors."

Ruto replied, "I was always fascinated by the tales that my father and my servants would tell me about such warriors as a child. When I heard that it was unheard of for women to be warriors, I set pioneering that as one my big goals. When I was old enough, Zihark took me in for training. He taught me a bunch of techniques, but he wasn't too enthused about what I was doing. Eventually, he managed to get me to quit."

Link turned to her and commented, "Aww...that's just mean."

Ruto nodded and said, "Zihark wasn't too enthused by what I was doing. I left, but then I began looking for another trainer. I didn't find one until recently and that is when you came along. I think that you might have changed everything for me by just showing up as the new hero."

Link said, "I don't know what people see in me. I'm not the type of person to really be a hero. I've always just been a ranch boy, helping my uncle when he needed the help. My horse, Epona, just showed up recently and she had been wild."

Ruto commented, "That would explain why she is so stubborn. So, she was wild."

Link continued, "I had kind of dreamed of being a swordsman and trained to help defend my hometown, but I never thought I was going to be a hero. Therefore, I never prepared myself for being one. I don't know how long I'll last in these battles that are coming up, considering I've hardly ever been in combat."

Ruto told him, "Don't worry, the Triforce of Courage will guide you. It will be there, like a guiding light in the darkness that comes to destroy you."

Link asked, "How would you know that?"

Ruto smiled and touched the top of his left hand. She then said, "It is one of the few known magical artifacts that has accompanied the hero of time through all of his adventures."

Link smiled at her, and then said, "I suppose I'll be fine."

Ruto then added, "Besides, you have me going with you. That's a plus, right?"

Link nodded, and then asked, "Why do you think Death Mountain suddenly erupted? I wasn't expecting it to do that."

Ruto replied, "I don't think anyone was. I wouldn't know what set it off, though maybe Darunia does. He is one of the wisest persons in Hyrule, even if he is rough at times. He would know if you were up to the task or not."

Link said, "I don't think I am. If Ganon is involved, then I'm screwed."

Ruto said, "Perhaps we should discuss something else..."

Link asked her, "Like what?"

She began thinking, and then asked, "How about, when did you learn horse riding?"

Link smiled and replied, "I started when I was ten, and I did not do very good at all. The horse I was given was nice and modest, and did whatever I told it to. I was so stupid back then, I actually rode the horse down into the river and when I tried to urge it into the water, it wouldn't go. I got mad at it, and then it bucked me off into the water. My uncle had to come running to help me get out of the water and when he asked me what I was doing I said that the horse tried to kill me. I didn't know then that it was just being smart."

Ruto said, "Well, that was silly of you. When did you really get good."

Link replied, "By the time I was fifteen, I was getting good enough at riding to even ride some of the most unruly of horses. My friends called me the greatest horse wrangler in town, which was true. I managed to subdue a wild horse when I was nineteen, and that horse was named Epona. It never really was subdued, though, as I've told you before. Last time, it had a disagreement with me and managed to knock me into a pile of dirty hay. It then refused to come out of its stall, so I resorted to riding it out of its stall without a saddle to actually get it out."

Ruto said, "That sounds interesting. I had never heard of horse riding until I was thirteen, and then I was fascinated by the creatures. They were extremely intelligent, and they seemed to have no fear around me. However, Zihark managed to convince my father never to let me learn to ride them because Zihark thought I was stupid trying to learn a human method of transportation."

Link thought about it, and then asked, "Do you still want to learn how to ride one?"

Ruto looked into his eyes, a light suddenly seeming to fill them. She asked, "Will you teach me?"

Link's smile grew to where his teeth showed and said, "Yeah! I'll teach you all the basics tomorrow while we're riding up to Death Mountain."

Ruto asked, "Is it really that easy?"

Link stood up and replied, "Sure! If you devote yourself to it, you'll be able to ride like a pro in no time! You just have to stick with it and be around horses a lot. Of course, there comes the lessons of how to take care of one, and all that stuff, but for right now, I'll just show you the basics of how to ride one."

Ruto blushed and said, "Thank you, Link."

Link seemed surprised that she said that, and then replied, "Your welcome, Ruto. We'll start tomorrow, or whatever day we ride up to Death Mountain. Don't forget, Ruto."

He walked over to the edge of the waterfall and said, "Alright, I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning!"

He leaped over the waterfall and down to the pool below. Ruto ran over and watched as he resurfaced at the bottom and entered one of the hallways. She felt different about him now, as if something about him in her mind had changed. She had a feeling that she and Link would work great together now, especially in battle.

"Don't ever change, Link," she said aloud to no one.

_**Okay, weird conversation and yet I hope I told you a bit more about the kind of character they both are by doing this. Please submit your reviews, and also, I do not own Legend of Zelda or anything related. That belongs to Nintendo.**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: On to Death Mountain

"Okay, now try and steady yourself on the horse. Get to where you feel like you're not going to fall off," Link instructed. Today was the day that they were heading up to Death Mountain and just as he had promised, he was teaching her how to ride a horse. So far, she wasn't having that much difficulty at the moment.

She adjusted herself in the saddle a few times before saying "Okay! I think I'm ready to actually ride now."

They were both wearing their heat resistant armor. Link's was a red tunic that had a mask of gold over the face. He wasn't wearing it at the moment, because he claimed that it was too uncomfortable. Ruto's armor was more a platinum armor, with orbs set in it to provide a heat shield, as she refused to have a helmet built for her. Link was given a new sword as well, an ice blade that would prove very effective against the fire creatures inside Death Mountain.

Link said, "Okay, if you think you're ready then follow my example."

Link kicked his horse in the sides to urge it forward, but Epona reared instead, nearly knocking Link off. It then began running off towards Death Mountain, with Link hanging from the saddle. Ruto laughed and followed his example perfectly. Her horse began running forward and she didn't lose her balance. She watched as Link regained his balance and kept it well, despite the shaky start.

The ride took them up a mountain path that was covered in dried lava. All around them, the walls rose up and formed a small canyon as Link and Ruto rode through. She noticed that the walls had strange carvings on them. They weren't made by anything normal, and when she looked more closely, she could have sworn that they resembled claw marks. She didn't notify Link, for fear that he would delay and perhaps risk failing their task. Death Mountain could erupt at any moment, and Link had taken what Darunia might have called and unnecessary delay to show her how to ride a horse.

They reached the entrance to Death Mountain and found two Gorons waiting patiently outside. One said, "There they are! What took you so long?"

Link got off his horse and said, "Sorry, we had a new recruit in the ways of horse riding."

Ruto dismounted as well and asked, "If you knew that we were going to be late, then why did you choose this time to teach me?"

Link began rubbing his hand through his hair and said, "Well, I just thought that it would be more convenient to have you learn while we were riding up to the mountain. I guess I was wrong."

The goron said, "Hurry inside. Darunia said he wasn't surprised when you were late, but he was slightly disappointed as well. You'd best get yourself in gear or the monsters inside the dungeon will kill you."

Link walked past and said, "I'm well aware of that..."

He walked in and found himself inside the Goron city. It was a place that he had never thought he would ever get a chance to go. The seemed to be made of lava, but Link had read that they used an extremely durable glass to hold it there. The walls were stone, with carvings of their different heroes throughout the city. It was basically like a huge cylinder that was a small alcove down at the bottom. However, Link could not see what was inside because it was sealed off from above. He guessed that it was the king's chamber. Then, he noticed that everything seemed to be strangely still.

"Where are all of the Gorons?" Ruto asked.

Link replied, "I don't know. They must be in hiding because of all of the monsters. That's the only thing I can think of anyway."

Ruto watched as he leaped down from level to level until he reached the bottom. She followed his example and wondered how he wasn't hindered by the falls at all. Every time she landed, her knees buckled and she almost fell to the ground face first. She reached the bottom and followed Link down to the bottom chamber. She felt a strange chill suddenly surround her, and then it leveled out as they walked down into the sealed off chamber. There was the throne room, and it didn't look like much.

There it was, the throne gone, and the whole place filled with lava. There was a stone bridge floating on the lava currently, allowing Link and Ruto to walk to the opening that had once been where the throne stood. Link felt warm as he walked out, and then his face began to burn. He remembered the mask and quickly put it on to keep his face from burning off.

That worked, and his face now felt cool instead of burning. He walked onward with Ruto and before long they found themselves standing inside Death Mountain itself. The crater around them was blazing hot, and Link thought, _Thank the Gorons for these heat resistant armors._

Darunia stood a little ways away on a single platform overlooking the rest of the crater. Link and Ruto walked forward. He turned around when he heard them approaching and asked, "What took so long, hero?"

Link said, "She wanted to learn how to ride a horse, so I was teaching her. It took a little while for to get a horse that she liked, though."

He seemed startled, as the voice that came out of the mask was not his own. He asked, "What did you do to this mask?"

Darunia grinned and said, "That is our little secret. If you can figure it out, then you can design a mask of your own to give you a unique voice. For now, let us proceed."

Ruto asked, "Where are we going, though?"

Darunia turned around and said, "Simple. The source of the eruption is because the spirits of Fire are not pleased. We will have to enter the temple of fire and cleanse it of the darkness that lies within."

He lifted up his hand and pointed a finger straight outward. Suddenly, fire leaped up in front of him for at least a minute, and then when it cleared, there was a obsidian bridge in front of them that was leading up to a huge door set in the side of the crater. Link asked, "Is that it?"

Darunia replied, "That, hero, is the temple of fire. When we go inside, it will be our duty to cleanse the evil inside there. I don't know what exactly lies inside, but I am not afraid of the evil."

He turned and asked, "Are you both ready?"

Link was the first to say, "Yes, I'm ready."

Ruto replied after him, "I am ready, Darunia."

Darunia said, "Then follow me. Inside, there are two packs. One belongs to Ruto, and the other will go to you, hero. You may not think that the iron boots inside of your pack will come in handy, but truth be told that they will have many uses inside this temple."

Darunia stepped onto the bridge and said, "Come! Let us face this evil and purge it from our temple forever!"

_**Next chapter will be the first major action one. The temple won't be nearly as big as the ones in the games, but then it will be just large enough that the battles will be very open. As usual, please submit your reviews and tell me how I did for this chapter.**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: The battle for Death Mountain

_**Okay, so I will be making these puzzles and such, even though when I posted the last chapter the other day, I had something completely different. So, enjoy this next chapter.**_

Darunia led Link and Ruto towards the temple at a steady pace, hoping that they still had time to save the mountain. Ruto didn't dare look down at the lava below them as they crossed the bridge, for fear that vertigo would cause her to fall off into the lava. Link, however, kept glancing over the sides, as if expecting something to come up out of the lava below. Ruto thought that he was taking an unnecessary risk, but Link thought he had seen something move down below, and was being wary.

They reached the entrance without much trouble. Ruto asked, "Why did you keep glancing over the side? You were giving me the creeps!"

Link replied, "I was making sure there was nothing down there. I honestly thought there was something down there moving through the lava, so I kept making sure so that if something did move I could warn you and Darunia."

Darunia said, "If there was anything down there, then there would be problems. No normal creature can survive direct contact with the lava."

Darunia then used his great strength to shove the doors open, and Link noticed their packs right inside the door. He walked over and picked up the one that was clearly labeled for him, while throwing the one for Ruto over to her. He opened it up to find only two items inside. One was a set of iron boots, and the other was a bag of bombs.

Link pulled out the iron boots and felt that they were extremely lightweight. He asked, "Um...isn't iron normally supposed to be heavy?"

Darunia said, "Actually, there's only enough metal on them that certain rocks in the temple will attract you to them while you are wearing those."

Link quickly took off his boots and put the metal boots on. He put his old boots back in the pack and took the bombs out. He strapped the bag of bombs to his side and said, "Alright, I'm ready."

He glanced over at Ruto, who was holding a hookshot and a boomerang. She said, "Um...I'm not sure that I'm going to need these. Here, you have them, Link."

She threw them over and Link caught them both. He put them both away in bomb bag, and Darunia said, "Shall we get going, then? There's much to do in this temple."

He walked into the open door and both Link and Ruto followed. They walked into brightly lit room that was the main room of the temple. It was huge, the roof standing up at about one hundred meters, from Link's poor estimations. The front of the room had an altar that seemed to be flaming, but there was one very noticeable difference in the flame. It was blue instead of orange-reddish.

"I wonder what's causing that?" Ruto asked.

Darunia replied, "I do not know, princess. I do know that it is unnatural, and that we must find a way to restore it."

Link looked around and saw that there were two other paths. He said, "I think we should split up here. I'll take the left road."

Ruto looked at him and asked, "Since when are you making the decisions?"

Darunia said, "No, he's right. We should split up here. I'll go to the altar ahead and ask the fire spirits what is wrong. I may even be able to use them to communicate with you throughout the temple."

Ruto asked, "So, then I'll be taking the right path?"

Link said, "You don't necessarily have to, although it would definitely help us explore the temple thoroughly."

Ruto said, "Alright! I'm all for that. Let's go."

She ran towards the right door and opened it. He saw flares fly out as she ran in and Link asked, "Is she going to be alright?"

Darunia replied, "I think so. She's got a fine heat resistant armor suit, much like you do. The path you will take will lead you straight towards the center of the temple. It hasn't been traveled for a long time, however. In fact, no one has set foot inside this temple for hundreds of years."

Link asked, "Why is that?"

Darunia stepped up to the altar and replied, "Simple. There was never a need to."

Link looked back towards his door, and then walked towards it. He had just set his hand on the handle when Darunia said, "I must warn you of something, Link. There will be fiery creatures deep inside this temple. They were trained to kill intruders, and so they will attack you without hesitation. Your ice sword is very effective against them, which is why I gave it to you."

Link pulled out his ice sword and said, "Thanks for the information, Darunia. I'll remember that as I go in."

He opened the door and stepped through. What he saw inside stunned him. There was a huge chamber made entirely out of metal. To his left, there was a large door that seemed to be locked with a large key. The door to his right was a simple metal door that didn't seem locked. In front of him was what really shocked him, though. There was a portrait of a huge flaming dragon that resembled a flying lizard and he was a small figure up against it holding a two-handed hammer.

He looked at himself in the portrait and asked aloud, "A prophecy?"

He walked forward, keeping his eye on his figure inside the portrait. As he approached the huge portrait, the Triforce in his hand began to glow. He looked up at the picture and saw that it lit aflame, and the dragon seemed to be coming out. Link cried, "Oh no! It was a trap!"

He began running back and tripped over a rock that had landed from the portrait. The dragon soared overhead and disappeared through the wall into the sealed off room. He stood up, staring in horror at what just happened. Then, he heard a horrible laughter from a disembodied thing surround him. He looked around frantically, but saw nothing. He was beginning to freak out, when he found something of courage and calmed down. He looked around and found that the room was basically the same, except that the portrait was still missing.

He looked to the only door that he could really go through, and decided to go through rather than go back. He walked over to it and opened it. Inside, he saw a large room that had many paintings of the different fire gods inside. Ragnos, Flargon, Tevron...all of the different lords of fire were here in paintings. However, he noticed that something was out of the ordinary. They did not seem pleased at all. Ragnos had his great hammer of fire above the city of Hyrule, Flargon was causing the mountain to erupt...anything that they could potentially be doing to destroy life was happening.

He also found several pyre elementals, pillars of flame that seemed to move unaided, moving across the room. He gripped his ice sword tighter and walked inside. As soon as he stepped into the middle area, they all turned to him. He said, "I am here to appease the fire lords and destroy the darkness that infests this temple."

They replied, "You are the darkness that dares come in here and disturb our lords. You will pay dearly for such an intrusion."

They all vanished and became actual forms of people and ran at him. Several of them had flaming arrows, and Link watched as they shot past the other ones that had flame swords and were running at him. Something began to guide him as he easily rolled aside and came up behind one. He stabbed his sword through its back and cut upward, extinguishing it almost instantly.

The others turned and charged at him again. He parried their swords and watched their weapons extinguish. They attempted to engulf him, but he made a wide swing and extinguished them all in one swing. He turned and saw that there were four archers around him. He pulled out his boomerang and threw it at one. He then shot the hookshot at another while rolling away from their arrows. He saw the boomerang blow the flame being apart, but his hookshot really did nothing to the other one.

He saw all of the other flame beings combine into one, with two blades. He also found that his sword of ice was nearly out of its magic power. He put it back in its cold sheath and pulled out his normal blade. Then, he saw that the creature materialized into an actual warrior, with red blades. It looked like one of the other fire lords, but in a human form. The blades were jagged and glowing red, and he had black armor with his symbol on the breastplate.

He said, "Listen to me! I am not here to steal anything or disfigure any of the paintings! I am here to protect this temple from the evil inside! Please understand that I mean your lords no harm!"

The man said, "You lie, young one. You have angered the lord of fire, and now you must pay."

Link asked, "How have I angered them?"

The man said, "You mean you wish to lie about the fact that you were here earlier?"

Link started when he heard that. Earlier? Could it have been...? "Shadow Link..." he muttered.

The man asked, "Who?"

Link replied, "There is a shadow version of me on the lose. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Link...the hero of time. I am here to purge this temple of the evil that has invaded it."

The man lowered his blades and said, "If you what you say is true, then you must be the one to fight the dragon that has invaded this temple."

Link asked, "How am I to fight it? I do not possess the hammer that the old hero did, and I my ice sword here probably cannot penetrate its hide."

The man pointed towards Link, but then Link noticed that he was actually pointing to something behind him. He turned and saw a door that was made fancier than the rest. He asked, "Am I supposed to go through there?"

The man replied, "Indeed. If you truly are the new hero of time, then you must face the trials in there...alone."

Link turned back to him and asked, "What awaits me?"

Link saw nothing there when he turned around. The man that had been speaking to him earlier was gone. He turned back to the door and thought, _Well, here goes nothing._

He walked over to the door and opened it. He looked in and saw a room filled with glowing blue rock. There were metal pieces on the rock, and Link decided that it must be the same rock that Darnia was mentioning. He walked in and stepped onto the rock, feeling that his feet seemed to stick to it. He wondered just what this was, and then began to carefully walk across. He followed it in stomping steps, as he had force his feet to come off the rock in order to move them forward.

He walked onward, trying to keep his eyes from looking at the floor now. He noticed that he was over a pit of lava, and that if he somehow slipped, he would fall into the lava. He didn't know how he would end up slipping, but he had a feeling that the metal wasn't too safe. He stepped over the pieces of metal in order to avoid a possible accident. He kept walking, his eyes intently focused on the door at the other end.

He eventually found himself walking upside-down towards the door and he desperately tried to keep his eyes fixed on the "floor" of rock that he walking along so he didn't slip on the metal. He really was unsure that it would have that effect, but he wasn't about to trust his luck. He walked along, and eventually found himself directly above the landing near the door. He began trying to figure out how he could get off so he could enter the door.

The thought occurred to him and he tried to jump. That didn't work at first. "Come on..." he muttered. He crouched and tried to leap off. It barely worked, and he got just enough distance that his feet were no longer attracted to the rock. He managed to flip himself around and land on his feet, facing the door. He walked over to it and noticed that it wasn't a normal door. It was round, and looked like he could roll it aside. He gave a might shove, and it rolled aside easily, it was way looser than he had anticipated and he about lost his balance because it gave way so easily.

The next room was basically just a pit of lava with a very flimsy looking bridge going across it. Link figured that it would sway, so he would have to take his steps slow and steady to get across. He stepped onto the middle of the bridge and then heard a cracking sound. He thought, _No...it's going to crumble under my weight!_

He began to dash across and noticed that it did sway. And, to make matters worse, it was collapsing right behind him. "I don't enough speed to get across!" he yelled in desperation and horror.

He saw a small wooden stone at the other end of the bridge, and now the bridge was beginning to fall. His thoughts turned to the hookshot. It was the only thing he could think of that could save him right now. He whipped out his hookshot and blindly shot at the wooden peg. Time seemed to slow as he watched the hook fly forward...

_Please hit...please hit..._he pleaded in his mind.

All at once, the line went taught and he was pulled upward towards the landing. He landed right in front of the door and just stood there for a few moments, trying to regain his senses. He turned around and saw that there was no longer a bridge there. He looked at the peg that had saved his life and noticed that the hook had jarred it loose by attaching. He began laughing out of joy that he was still alive.

"Yes! I knew that this thing would come in handy! Thank you, Ruto, you just saved my life!" he called.

He opened the door and saw his reward inside. There were two chests, one that was golden, and the other that just looked normal. Suddenly, he heard, "Link! This is Darunia!"

Link said, "Darunia! Are you alright?"

Darunia replied in a grim voice, "Yes, but I'm afraid to say that Ruto is not at the moment. She's trapped in the room with the dragon, Volvagia. I don't know how it came back to life after all of these centuries."

Link shuddered and said, "Oh no...I've got to help her..."

Darunia then yelled, "Link! You have to hurry now! Open the plain chest first!"

Link ran forward and opened up the plain chest. Inside was the hammer that the hero had used long ago. He lifted and almost dropped it because of its weight. Then, it seemed to become lighter in his hands as he lifted it. He then leaped back as flame surrounded that chest. He put the Megaton Hammer on his back and went to open the golden chest. He saw the key for entering the room that had been sealed off inside.

He picked the key up and said, "Darunia! Can you take me to Ruto?"

At first there was no reply, and the seconds seemed to drag on as Link anxiously awaited Darunia's reply. Suddenly, he appeared in front of the door that had been sealed off and faintly heard a scream from inside. Darunia came rolling up and said, "Alright, Link! We'll do this together!"

Link unlocked the door and it opened automatically. Suddenly, at least twenty of the fire beings landed, looking straight at Link with burning eyes. Darunia turned to face them and said, "Never mind me! You go and save her."

Link ran in and the door slammed shut behind him. Inside, it was a large whirlpool of lava with a single platform down at the bottom. On that platform...was the limp figure of Ruto. He drew in his breath sharply and leaped down to the bottom of the whirlpool. He landed on the platform and desperately felt Ruto's pulse. It was there, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered it.

Suddenly, Volvagia flew out of the lava straight towards him. Without even seeming to think, he pulled the hammer off of his back and slammed the dragon's mighty head into the stone. He did it again in the same spot while it was stunned from the first blow. Part of its head opened up and it screamed in pain. It flew up and went back into the lava to plan its next move.

Ruto began to groggily awaken, and Link said, "Stay down! The dragon is still here!"

He was looking around, waiting for it to strike. Suddenly, a beam of lava shot at him, and he barely managed to twist his body in time to avoid it. It missed him by inches, and he could easily feel the searing heat as it passed. Ruto's eyes were wide and filled with fear, and Link almost let down his guard staring into them.

Suddenly, the dragon burst out of the lava again, this time heading straight for Ruto. Link, in desperation, pulled out his ice sword and threw it. It slid into its head perfectly, and the dragon's fire went out. It fell into the lava and burst apart into dark specks. Link watched as it fell, and then he held out his hand to help Ruto up.

She took it and when she was standing she said, "That was amazing! How did you know where to find me?"

Link replied, "Darunia told me about that. By the way, the hookshot you gave to me saved my life."

Ruto seemed surprised and asked, "How?"

Link told her about his encounter along the bridge and when he described what he said after he landed on the bridge, a wide grin appeared on Ruto's face. She said, "I guess that's why you came to save me, then."

Link said, "Well, partially. The truth is that I...er...never mind."

Ruto seemed confused and asked, "You what?"

Link said, "It was nothing. Don't worry about it, Ruto."

She still kept her confused stare locked on him. The way he had said those words, it was almost as if..._No, he wouldn't have those kinds of feelings towards me...would he? _She didn't think too heavily on it, and instead just followed Link as he left this room. She noticed that the lava had returned to normal and a bridge of metal had extended to the rock. She smiled as she walked Link, the hero of time, proudly walk towards the exit of the Fire Temple.

_**Long...chapter...wow. Okay, this temple is done. Tell me what you think in the reviews, and if you think that I should do all of the dungeons in this long format. Thank you, and the occasional disclaimer, I do not own Legend of Zelda or anything related. Nintendo does.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Troubles with Zihark

"So...now the forest is in danger?" Link asked. He hadn't even spent a day in peace when Zihark informed him that Ruto had received a message that was a distress call from the forest nearby. Apparantly, a phantom Link was causing trouble there. When Zihark explained what the letter had said, he didn't seem very confident that anything could be done about it.

"Yes, and they are asking for the hero that saved them from the volcano's wrath," was Zihark's reply.

Link said, "I guess that they're wanting me to come there and save them from this phantom Link. You know, I'm beginning to think that Ganondorf might not be involved in this at all."

Zihark seemed surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"

Link had just picked up his Megaton Hammer, which he had been allowed to keep by the fire lords, and replied, "I mean that it really seems that this Shadow Link is doing all of the bad things around here, not Ganondorf. Have you noticed that Ganondorf has never been mentioned in these doings?"

Zihark said, "Well, that could just be him sending his minion out to make it seem like its his minion doing the work and not him. You know that leaders aren't stupid enough to make themselves publicly known."

Link asked, "Why not?"

Zihark sighed and said, "Because, if they did, then they would be leaving themselves open. No one should, in their right mind, leave themselves open during combat or war. It just is not smart. So, what I'm saying is that Ganondorf is letting his minion be the one that is known, while he himself is in hiding. At least, that's a theory I have."

Link began to walk towards the door and said, "I guess that all will be revealed in time."

Zihark said, "By the way, Ruto will not be able to come with you this time."

Link stopped, and then asked, "Why is that?"

Zihark asked, "Why does it matter?"

Link turned to him and replied, "Zihark, if you have not noticed, we are combat partners here. If something happens to her, I'm supposed to find out what's wrong and see if I can help."

Zihark said, "Link, her condition is none of your concern! You will be going alone, that's all you need to know."

Link began to get angry and said, "Zihark, tell me what is wrong!"

Zihark growled, "It is none of your concern, 'hero'."

Link was taken aback by the sarcastic way that Zihark said hero, and then said, "Zihark! You are purposely hiding something from me that I should know! What is it?!"

"What is going on?" they both heard Ruto ask.

Zihark was about to say something when Link said, "Zihark here tells me that you are unable to come with me to the forest."

Ruto said, "Yes, he's right. My father, he-"

Zihark said, "Link, do not worry about this. It is none of your concern. How many times will I-"

Link turned to Ruto and asked, "Your father...what?"

Ruto replied, "He has fallen under a grave illness suddenly. We were not aware of it until recently, though I do not know why Zihark refused to tell you that. Zihark, what is wrong? You've been acting so strange lately."

Zihark seemed surprised and asked, "Have I?"

Link said, "Yes, you have. You've been arguing with me over pointless topics, you patronized me, and you about fought me over something that I had a right to know."

He turned to him and said, "I don't know if I should trust you after all of this, Zihark."

Zihark seemed hurt by that remark. He bit his lip and turned away. Link gently pushed past Ruto and whispered, "I'll be back before long with a cure. What is his sickness and what herb can be used to cure it?"

Ruto whispered in reply, "It is a special herb that grows in the forest temple. It has purple leaves, and is very tall. It shouldn't be hard to miss."

Link said, "Alright, then I will look for it."

Ruto seemed surprised and asked, "Are you really going to try and save my father?"

Link turned to her and smiled. He was about to say something when Ruto happily said, "Oh, Link, you're so kind! I'll be waiting here for you to return with it."

She walked past him and walked off. Link turned back to Zihark and frowned when he saw him glaring at him. Link walked away and then he heard Zihark call, "I've warned you once already, Link! Don't push this!"

Link stopped, anger flushing his face, and then called back in sheer, unbridled anger, "You don't have a say in what I do, Zihark!"

He stormed off, and little did he realize that Zihark stood there, horrified by the way that Link had replied. He didn't know what was causing him to do this. It was like something was in him forcing him to think angrily about these pointless things. He knelt down on the floor and asked, "Lords of water, what is happening to me?"

_**Hey, please review, people! Reviews give me more incentive, and the more incentive I have, the more often I post, and the better my stories are! So, don't forget to review, as usual! XD**_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Misfortune in the Lost Woods

Link stepped into the forest, also known as the Lost Woods after what felt like hours of traveling, although in reality it had only been half of an hour. He walked in and found himself looking into a vast darkness ahead. There wasn't much light, and where the sun did penetrate the darkness, it was in very small, tight beams. He began listening, but heard nothing out of the ordinary. Besides a few chirps from birds up in the canopies and the the chattering of squirrels among the trees, everything seemed strangely peaceful.

He walked ahead, almost entranced by this peace. Then, he remembered why he was here and began to look around for any signs of a village or even a temple. He walked onward, and found that almost all of the forest looked about the same no matter where he went. He kept walking in one direction for hours, and then sighed and sat down. There didn't seem to be an end to the forest, and he was lost now.

"No wonder it's called the Lost Woods," he muttered.

He suddenly heard a twig snap nearby. He hopped up and looked around for the source of this. Suddenly, he heard, "Well, well, well. It looks like we have another person lost in this forest."

He turned to see a small boy with rags on, but there was something that wasn't normal about him. Link saw that his face seemed strangely shadowed out, but he could see two sets of glowing yellow eyes peering out at him. Then, he saw that his hands were bone, and guessed that he was a skeleton.

"Who are you?" Link asked.

The little skeleton boy laughed and replied, "I don't have a name in this forest. I lost it a long time ago. You can just call me Skull Kid, for that is what I have turned into."

Link asked, "Can you take me to the nearest village? Or even the temple here?"

The skull kid cocked its head sideways, and then shrugged and said, "It depends on what town and what temple you want to go to. There's two temples and at least twenty scattered towns and villages around here."

Link looked at the skull kid with wonder. Here was this undead being standing before him and talking with him instead of trying to kill him. Link asked, "Where's the nearest village?"

He could have sworn that he saw a small smile form on the skull kids face, and it said, "I can take you there...for the price of five rupees!"

Link thought, _That sounds reasonable enough._

He reached into his wallet and pulled out a single blue rupee. The skull kid held out his hands and Link dropped the small, glittering gem into its hands. It laughed and said, "Very well, then! Let us find civilization and fast!"

It began to run off through the woods, and Link followed to the best of his ability. It was swift, and seemed to be testing Link's endurance be continuing to run full speed in all sorts of weird directions. Link began to think that it was playing with him, as it sometimes led him in the complete opposite direction than the way they were going.

He yelled, "You know, I can't keep running forever!"

All of a sudden, they arrived at a town. It was in a clearing, and all of the houses and buildings were made from trees. Link found himself just staring at this strange sight, and then he noticed that the skull kid had vanished. He sighed and thought, _If I ever meet that kid again, I'll have to remember not to trust it._

He walked down into the village and noticed that everything was strangely still. There was not a thing around that was moving. He looked into the houses, each of them, and saw nothing in them. It was like the village was abandoned. He angrily said, "That skull kid tricked me! He took me purposely to a town that was uninhabited! Civilization indeed!"

He sighed and sat down on the ground in the middle of the village. He looked around, for a while, hoping desperately that some form of life would show itself. When nothing did, he said, "Curse that skull kid. He got me even more lost than I was before. How am I supposed to find the temple and save her father, or purge this forest of the darkness if I can't even find anything?!"

"That, my friend, is just what I can help you with," he heard someone say. It was not the skull kid from earlier.

He turned to face this new being and found himself face to face with a small creature that was made out of wood. It was half his height, with strange yellow eyes and a mouth that was in the shape of a round hole. He wondered what it was, and then it asked him, "Are you Link?"

Link nodded and the wooden creature said, "Wonderful! Follow me. The Great Deku Tree is expecting you."

It turned around and began walking, something that Link had thought it wasn't going to do. He followed it and it asked, "How did you end up there, anyways?"

Link replied, "I followed a skull kid and it led me there, and then abandoned me."

The creature sighed and said, "A word of advice to strangers here. Never, ever, trust a skull kid."

They walked onward, and it seemed to have a set destination in mind, unlike the skull kid earlier, who just went in just about any direction possible except for up or down. He followed it warily, not so sure that he should trust it. Finally, they arrived at another village. This one had the same kind of buildings and houses, but there were small people, almost like children, walking around and going on with their daily lives. They all turned when they saw the wooden creature arriving, guiding Link towards the Great Deku Tree.

He felt a little uneasy, but these little people seemed more or less peaceful. They wore plain, green clothes, and had a fairy floating near their heads at almost all times. He wondered why the fairies were there, but then he heard the wooden creature say, "We are almost there. We have one more path to take and then we will have arrived at the Great Deku Tree. Show respect in front of him, please."

Link followed the creature all the way down a small canyon, and then he found himself before an awe inspiring sight. There, in the middle of a clearing, stood the Great Deku Tree. It was huge, standing so tall that it was easily the largest tree in the entire forest. It had what looked like a face on the front, with a mustache of leaves and large eyes that seemed to be carved into it.

Link walked up to it and it said, "Welcome, young hero. I have called for you, and you have answered promptly. For that, I thank you."

Link asked, "What do you need me to do?"

The Deku Tree replied, "Indeed, there is an evil lurking inside this forest. Some say the great king himself has returned in the form of a phantom. I do not know what it really is, but I do know that it has now made the forest temple its domain. I must ask you to defeat it."

Link replied, "I will. Give me directions to it, and I will see this evil purged from the temple forever."

The Deku Tree almost seemed to smile and said, "You are a brave young warrior. I shall have one of the dekus guide you to the Sacred Forest Meadow, but no further than that. After you enter, you must brave the temple alone."

Link nodded and said, "I will be on my way then."

The deku from earlier came up and said, "I will escort you to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Though I cannot follow you in, I will be waiting for you outside."

Link asked, "So why is it that I do not get help? Surely there is someone that ca-"

The Deku Tree said, "No, there is no one else who is to be allowed into the meadow, except for the sage, but she has gone missing and we do not know where she is."

Link sighed and said, "Well, I guess that really means I will be going in alone..."

The deku asked, "Shall we go, now?"

Link began to follow the deku through the woods, and as they neared their destination, Link heard an ocarina playing. As Link listened, he began to feel the rhythm of the song, and wondered who was playing the ocarina. He asked, "Who's playing that song?"

The deku replied, "I do not know, but whoever they are, they are inside the Sacred Forest Meadow. I would advise that you have them leave, unless the person is the sage. After you are done purging this temple, leave immediately. You are only being allowed into the Sacred-"

Link interrupted, "Yeah, I know, now leave me alone about that. I know what I'm supposed to do."

The deku said, "Whatever."

They finally arrived at the entrance and the deku said, "Once you go in, I will not allow you to leave until you have brought me proof that the temple has been purged. Then, once you are done with that, I will highly recommend that you leave this forest, for I am sure that you will have other tasks arising as well."

Link walked in and then he heard the deku add, "Oh, and before I forget, take nothing out of that temple that belongs there, including the healing plant within. If you do, I will see to it that you are...executed on spot for thievery."

Link was taken aback by that comment. He needed that to save Ruto's father. He began to wonder if this deku was really a good person or not. The Great Deku Tree would probably allow him to take just one leaf, which was all that he really needed, with him to go save the Zora king. However, this deku wasn't about to allow anything out of the ordinary to happen in there. He drew his sword and cautiously went in, preparing himself to face this phantom, be it real or not.

_**As always, please review on this chapter and tell me what you think. Next chapter will be long, as it is the next dungeon. Hope you like! X3**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Ghosts don't belong in a forest

Link walked into the Sacred Forest Meadow, the words of the deku still fresh on his mind. "...take nothing out of the temple that belongs there, including the healing plant within..." was what the deku had said.

_I have to help Ruto's father..._he thought, _I can't just let him die. I made a promise to her, and I'm going to keep it, whether the deku likes it or not._

The path ahead of him was clear. There were no enemies, nothing out of the ordinary, except for that the grass was browning instead of a bright green. He walked forward towards the source of the song, and he saw the entrance of the forest temple up against a wall a little ways away. He kept walking, and then he saw a small girl on a stump right underneath the entrance holding a small, wooden ocarina. She had green hair that she was letting flow down to her waist, and she wore the same green clothing that the other small people wore.

He walked up, and she stopped. She set the ocarina in her lap and asked, "Who might you be?"

Link replied, "My name is Link. And you?"

She replied with a smile, "I'm Saria, the forest sage. I am a Kokiri, just so you know."

Link seemed surprised and said, "Well, then I guess I won't be asking you to leave."

Saria asked, "Hmm? You were going to ask me to leave because you thought that I did not belong here?"

Link nodded. Saria giggled and said, "Well, that's silly. Who told you no one is allowed into the Sacred Forest Meadow, anyways?"

Link replied, "The Great Deku Tree told me that."

Saria seemed surprised and said, "That's...strange. He never said anything of the sort. No wonder people have not come here for a long time. Then again, I've heard strange noises coming from inside this temple. I think that something is inside messing with the entire forest."

Link pulled out his hookshot and said, "That's what I'm about to find out."

He raised the hookshot and Saria asked, "Are you going to enter the temple?"

Link nodded, and then shot the hookshot. Right before he was dragged up to the entrance, Saria leaped off of the stump and grabbed onto his legs. They were both lifted up to the entrance and Link helped Saria up. He asked, "Why did you do that?"

Saria replied, "I am the forest sage, remember? This is my temple, and I am going to help you cleanse it of whatever evil might be in here."

Link asked, "Can you fight?"

She shook her, and then said, "I can help, just not with the fighting. I have all sorts of powers that allow me to control the plant life in here. I can help you in a lot of ways here, I just don't fight."

Link pulled out his sword and said, "That makes sense."

He walked in, with Saria close behind. The entrance hall looked similar to the outside, except with stone walls on either side. The floor was grass, and there were vines on either side going all the way up the walls. Straight ahead of them was a door, a plain wooden one. Link looked around the room warily before walking towards the door. He reached it without difficulty and opened it. Inside, there was a large room that was entirely made out of stone. There was a staircase in front of him leading down to what looked like an a small wooden elevator in the middle of the room surrounded by colored torches.

Link and Saria walked down to it, and Link suddenly raised his sword in surprise. He saw four poes, one at each torch. Using their lanterns, they captured the light inside of their lanterns and left, each vanishing through a wall. Link watched them disappear, and then he was aware that the entire room was now dark. He remembered seeing that there was a door straight ahead up on a landing, and two doors on the ground floor on both sides of the room. What was worse, the elevator had went down into the ground.

Saria asked, "Why would there be ghosts here? This is not the Shadow Temple..."

When Link heard that name, a pain shot through him suddenly for a brief moment. It was just enough to make him nearly collapse. Saria asked, "What's wrong? Are you alright, Link?"

Link stood up and said, "Yeah, I'm fine, I think. Never mind that, we have to get those torches lit, and that means chasing those poes."

Saria asked, "So, which door first?"

Link began thinking, and then said, "Let's try the left path first. I don't know what is in here, so it's going to be risky no matter which path we take."

Saria said, "Alright. I think that the left path will lead us to the section of this temple completely dedicated to forest life. Inside, there are all sorts of animals and trees and plants. I think that if there is going to be anything fighting us there, we will have the advantage because of my ability to control the plants."

Link commented, "So you can fight."

Saria said, "No, I cannot make the plants fight for me. I can only do certain things with my powers."

Link shrugged and said, "Whatever. As long as you help in some way, I'll be fine."

He walked over to the left door and opened it. Inside, he saw a huge area filled with trees. It seemed like the forest outside, but in a compressed area. Saria pointed in and said, "I can see one of the poes. It is fleeing deep into the forest here where I fear that it will find a way to embed itself into one of the trees and then we'll never be able to kill it."

Link said, "Alright, then what are we waiting for? Let's get it!"

He ran into the forest, and began running after the poe. He followed it by the green light that it was holding, and he didn't lose track of it as he ran. He found that he was quickly catching up with it, and Saria was somehow keeping up with him. When it was in view, vines suddenly blocked its path. It seemed startled, and then turned around right as Link stabbed his sword at it.

However, he did not have any idea what it was capable of. It vanished right before his sword hit it. He stared for a moment in disbelief, and then saw that the lantern was still floating there. He watched the lantern as if floated away, and then the lantern got stuck in the vines. It pushed sharply against the vines as if the poe were struggling to get it through by pulling on it.

Link looked at the vines and the lantern, and suddenly had an idea. He said, "Saria! Get the vines to pull the lantern away from the poe!"

For a moment, nothing happened as the poe continued trying to free its precious lantern. Then, the vines wrapped themselves around the lantern, and Link could tell that the poe was beginning to freak out because it came back into view and was tugging furiously at the lantern, trying to free it from the vines that brought it closer to Link. Link watched the poe struggle, and seemed amused. He then stabbed the poe while it was visible and took the lantern from the vines.

Suddenly, the lantern shattered in his hands and the light flew out and lit a nearby torch. He asked, "I wonder if that other torch back in that room is lit?"

Saria said, "Only one way to find out."

They walked back to the entrance and Link was just about to open the door when he heard a howl right behind him. He turned to see a large wolf leaping at him. Thinking quickly, he rolled underneath it and pulled out his sword. It turned around and when it saw the sword, it just began circling him. Saria was beginning to use her powers when it leaped at Link. However, Link was expecting this, and stabbed the head it in the head when it got close.

It fell limp on his blade, hints of blood beginning to form from its head. Link pushed it off and watched as it vanished into blue flame. He said, "Well, that was different."

He opened the door and when they walked back into the main room, they saw that the torch was lit. He smiled and said, "Well, I guess that answers my question. Now, to the right. I'm still a little wary about the front path..."

They walked over to the right door and then Saria said, "If memory serves me right, then this area is the healing plant is kept."

Link's heart leaped when he heard that. Now was his chance. If he could just get a leaf and get by unnoticed, then he would be able to save Ruto's father. He had to now, otherwise he would be breaking a promise to the woman he...loved? He stopped in his thoughts right there and began to wonder if that was real.

"Do I really?" he asked himself.

Saria asked, "Do you really...what?"

Link shook his head and said, "It's nothing. Let's just move on."

They walked in and Link beheld the healing plant for the first time. There was no way that you could get the whole plant. It was huge, standing at, from Link's estimations, 30 feet high. It's leaves, a dark violet, hung there, waiting for someone to pick them. Saria said, "You can take one if you want."

Link asked, "But what about the deku outside?"

Saria asked, "There's a deku outside? What did he say to you?"

Link told her, "If I even take one of these leaves, he'll execute me on the spot for thievery."

Saria said, "Now I know that something is amiss. Most dekus do not act that way, let alone care about morals or justice, usually. I think it has something to do with the shadow version of you coming into the forest a while back. He said something about taking over the world for his new master."

Link seemed confused and thought, _"New" master? What's that supposed to mean?_

"So...you followed me. Fools," they heard. Both Link and Saria spun around to see a poe floating above the healing plant. It had a blue flame in its lantern.

Link said, "Give the temple back its light!"

The poe laughed and said, "Oh, I don't think you can order me around. This plant...it has been bugging for quite some time now. I think I shall put an end to it."

She let a bit of her flame drop out onto the plant and began laughing as the plant began burning. Link gasped and ran forward to one of the lower leaves. He leaped forward, grabbed it, and then pocketed it. He asked, "Saria! Will this spoil or something?"

Saria called, "No, I don't think so!"

The plant burned to a crisp, and the poe laughed and left to another room. Link stood up and said, "Ugh...now I'm going to show that poe that I mean business!"

He ran to the next door, but when he tried to open it, the handle slipped solidly through his hands. "Dang it! Why do these doors always have to be locked?!" he yelled.

He kicked the door, not budging it in the lightest. Saria said, "Well...I guess that leaves only one path to go...for the moment."

Link sighed and said, "At least I got the leaf for the Zora king. Hey, Saria, do you think that you could come with me to help convince that deku that it is alright for me to have this leaf?"

Saria grinned and replied, "I'll be happy to!"

Link smiled and said, "Alright. Last path, then."

They ran out of the room they were currently in and went up to the final door. Link opened it and glanced in. Inside, there were two more doors to take. Saria said, "Link, I would recommend that we take the right door first. I think that there was a bow in there that could really help us against these poes."

Link thought for a moment, and then said, "Alright, we'll take that door then."

They walked over to it and Link found that it was unlocked. He pushed it open and found a chest in the middle of the room. He grinned and walked over to it, but right before he could open it, the chest became the poe and it startled Link by screaming in his face. Link fell back, screaming back at it out of fear. Then it laughed at him and rushed past him. He heard it hit Saria and send her flying out of the room.

It turned around at the entrance and said, "I hope that you enjoy your executioner here."

It laughed and the door closed and locked. Link ran towards and kicked it, doing nothing. Suddenly, he heard something land behind him. He turned to see a man sized skeleton standing in front of him. It had a red, jagged blade and round shield that took up most of its torso. Its red eyes seemed to glare at Link as it walked towards him. Link drew his sword and shield, preparing himself for an actual fight.

It leaped at him and swung downward. Link sidestepped and cut it on the torso, chopping off some of its bones. He leaped away when it tried to counter, rolled on the ground and came up facing the skeleton. Suddenly, a name ringed in mind, the name Stalfos. He guessed that something wanted him to know what this menace was. It ran at him and when Link raised his shield to block, he felt it slam its shield into his knocking it away. Then he felt a burning pain as the sword cut him across the chest.

He stabbed at its face and caused it to collapse. He grinned and said, "So much for the executioner."

He walked over to the door and found that it was still locked. He was about to use his sword to try and stab at the lock when he heard footsteps behind him. He rolled aside right as the sword of the Stalfos came down and hit the door where his head might have been. He asked, "How did you come back?"

The Stalfos replied, "That, I'm not going to tell."

It stabbed at Link, who blocked with his shield and stabbed past it, only to hit its shield. They leaped away from each other and then Link finally took the offensive. He charged at the Stalfos and then leaped into the air. He brought his blade down hard upon the Stalfos' shield, so hard in fact that a crack ran through the shield. He managed flip backwards to avoid getting stabbed in the stomach. He landed and it was already upon him again.

He did the first thing that came to mind and stabbed. He felt it hit the face of the Stalfos, and then it collapsed. Link said, "I'm not about to risk you coming back again."

He pulled out one of the bombs and used a match that was also inside and lit the bomb. He dropped it on the body and ran away from it. He covered his ears right as the bomb exploded. He watched as the bones disintegrated and gave a cry of victory. Then, he saw the chest reappear, with a key on it. _How convenient..._he thought. He walked over and opened the chest to find a bow inside, along with a small quiver of thirty arrows.

He picked them up and attached the quiver to his belt. He slung the bow onto his back and thought, _I certainly hope I don't get too many items..._

He picked up the key and walked over to the door. He warily glanced back behind him as he unlocked it to make sure that the Stalfos wasn't coming back, and then he pushed the door open. Outside, he saw the other door, and no sign of Saria. He called, "Saria? Where are..."

He came to a horrible realization that Saria might have either died or been forced to go through the other door with the poe. He ran up to the door and was about to open it when he heard, "Link! Help me, please! I'm stuck in here with this poe. I need your help!"

Link asked, "Saria, are you through this left hand door?"

He heard the reply, "Yes, I am. Please, help me before I get killed by this thing..."

Her voice seemed to quaver with fear, fear of dying. Link said, "Alright, I'm on my way. Just hang on."

He opened the door and prepared himself for whatever lay through it.

_**Okay, consider this a halfway point. This was getting really long, so I decided to cut it in half . Please submit your reviews, and I hope you like the next part.**_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: The phantom of the forest

Link walked in and found himself in a large checkered hallway. He walked onward, and looked down it. There was the door at the other end. He began walking forward towards it when something told him that this wasn't right. There was something out of the ordinary. He heard a laughter from above him and looked up. There was the roof falling at him, with no way to dodge it. He stood there watching it as it came to him, with no way to dodge it.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small hole that he could fit through. He leaped for it and managed to squeeze through it. He leaped onto the roof and sprinted across it, desperately trying to reach the door at the other end before the roof floated back up. He reached it and opened it frantically as he felt the roof lifting up from under him. He leaped through right as the roof lifted itself back up to its proper place.

He glanced back in horror, and then looked into the room he was in and said, "Oh...great."

There were two open exits, one that had a twisted hallway, and the other that had a straight hallway. He thought, _Why do I sense a sadistic puzzle coming?_

He decided to go through the straight hallway, and ran down it. He reached a room at the other end and saw that it was a square room with glass at one end that allowed him to look into the adjacent room. He noticed that the other room was exactly like this room, but flipped. He looked up and saw himself standing on the roof of that room. He began to think, and thought, _Whatever happens in this room happens in that room, but in reverse...what if I found a way to flip one of these rooms around?_

He began looking around, and then heard, "You won't make it out alive, Link."

He looked back up his reflection, and saw two Stalfos form behind him. He looked back, and saw nothing. He leaped away and heard a sword clang to the ground in front of him. His heart skipped a beat when he realized what he had to do and fast. He had to flip either this room or the other room so that he could look in the reflection and fight back against these Stalfos.

He began to run from the Stalfos while looking around frantically for some way to flip the room. Suddenly, sections of the floor shot up around him to make platforms. He happened to be standing on one, and then he quickly looked into the reflection to see himself standing nearly toe-to-toe with his upside down self. He turned and kept his eyes on the reflection, hoping that these Stalfos did not have shields.

To his fortune, they did not, because they did not expect Link to be clever enough to figure out how to fight them right now. One leaped up behind him and Link did two things nearly at once. He stabbed it and dropped a lit bomb right in front of it. He then leaped towards where the next one was and stabbed, hitting it perfectly in the skull. He quickly lit another bomb and dropped it. He heard the first explosion behind him and leaped away to another platform to avoid being blown up by the other one.

"Impressive that you managed to do that. I think that it is time that I finished you for once," he heard Shadow Link say.

He turned to see Shadow Link standing before him with armor on now, and a blood red cape flowing from his back. Link asked, "Why did you have to come back?"

Shadow Link replied, "I've been keeping tabs on your progress, Link. I've had enough of your trying to act all heroic without the Master Sword."

Link said, "The Master Sword was lost a long time ago. How do you suppose I'm going to be getting it?"

Shadow Link shrugged and said, "That's up to you decide."

Shadow Link pulled out his sword and shield, and then got ready for battle. Link did the same, and they both began to stare each other down. Suddenly, the platforms shrank back into the ground and a wall formed up around them. Link looked at the wall in surprise, and then he quickly rolled aside of Shadow Link's leap. He came up and swung his sword at him.

Shadow Link parried perfectly and then thrust along his sword, something that Link couldn't quite do yet. Link managed to dodge and then knew that he had to use his other items to win this battle. He leaped away and pulled out his boomerang. He threw it from behind his shield, and Shadow Link didn't see it coming. He was hit along the side of the face, and Link ran forward and managed to get a cut in on Shadow Link's torso.

He then leaped back in time to avoid Shadow Link's sword and pulled a bomb. He lit it and threw it at Shadow Link. Shadow Link kicked it back, but Link knocked it back with shield, knocking it to the floor in front of Shadow Link. It exploded, sending Shadow Link flying up against a wall. Link whipped out his bow and put an arrow on the string. Pulling back, he aimed the arrow straight at Shadow Link's heart and fired.

The arrow penetrated and pinned Shadow Link to the wall. The wall then lowered, and the poe was on the other side. It seemed furious, and Link saw that this one had the normal colored flame with it. He shot an arrow at it, and it threw its hands up in the air and screamed in agony. Then, the lantern dropped from its hands and shattered. The flame flew out of it and into the other room where it lit a torch on the "ceiling".

Saria appeared, and she seemed very pale. Link ran over and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

Saria managed to reply, "Uh...I think...so..."

She stood up, and Link said, "Alright, that's two poes down. Let's go back to that other...dang it! Where is the key?!"

He began looking around the room for the key, and then he felt Saria place it in his hands. She said, "The poe had it with him the entire time."

Link sighed in relief and said, "Okay, now that he have that done, let's go."

They both returned to the middle room to find two of the torches lit now. Saria said, "Alright! Now, we just have to track the other two poes down."

Link and Saria ran back to the room with the deceased healing plant. They went to the door that had been locked, and Link tried the key. It fit perfectly, and they walked inside. Inside, there was a single portrait with the poe inside. Link pulled out his bow and put another one of his arrows inside. Suddenly, they heard, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The portrait suddenly changed and the poe floated out holding a bow with an arrow in it that was smothered in blue flame. Link aimed his bow up, disregarding the poes words. The poe tensed to let the arrow loose. For a moment, they just stood there, with Link very slowly moving his aim. Suddenly, he loosed it and the poe did the same with its bow. However, Link had this planned and pulled out another arrow as he watched both of the arrows hit each other in midair.

He armed his bow again and shot in the same place as before, and hit the poe dead in the head. The poe flew back into painting because of the arrow, and then the blue light came flying out and lit a torch nearby. Saria breathed a sigh of relief and said, "At first, I thought that the arrow was going to hit you."

Link put his bow back and said, "I've become better than when I started."

They ran back to the middle room, and when they arrived, they saw the last poe with the violet light floating in the middle of the room. Link walked up and said, "Give the light back to the temple."

The poe laughed and asked, "Did you really think it was going to be that easy?"

Link suddenly kicked the lantern out of the poes hands and replied, "No, I didn't."

He pulled out his sword in a flash and stabbed the poe. It uttered a cry of pain, and then vanished. The lights were all returned and the elevator came back up out of the ground. Saria said, "Well, that was easier than I had expected."

Link and Saria stepped into the elevator and went down under the ground. There, they found themselves in a large room, cylinder shaped room with two openings and a sealed off door. Other than that, it was perfectly plain. Saria said, "We have to push four different switches to open that door. Then, we can defeat the phantom."

Link looked around. There were only two switches in different rooms, not four. He asked, "Where are the other four?"

Saria shrugged and said, "I never really needed to come down here before."

Link asked, "Well, can you find like an opening or something? Something that would be small enough for you to crawl into?"

Saria began thinking, and then said, "Well, maybe. If there is such a thing, it's going to be well hidden."

Link walked into one of the rooms and stepped onto the switch. He heard something open, and called, "Saria! Look around!"

After a few seconds, he heard, "Yes, that opened up a small hole here! I think that it is just a partially jammed door, though."

He heard her step on the switch in the opposite room, and then he heard the third switch press. Suddenly, a door swung open in front of him and he saw the final switch inside. There was only one problem, and that was that the switch was surrounded by thorny vines. He called, "Saria! Need your help here!"

She came running and asked, "I wonder how those got there?"

She focused her power, and the vines retracted. Link ran forward and stepped onto the switch. Right then, they heard the door open, and Saria said, "Alright, I'm going to stay out here."

Link asked, "Why?"

Saria replied, "Remember, I have hardly any fighting skills."

Link sighed and said, "Right. Well, now it is time for me to cleanse this temple of evil."

He walked through the door and found himself in a circular room with a large upraised platform in the middle. He walked up and when he stood on top, all he could see around him were pictures, this time they were all dark and empty. He wondered if the phantom had left, or if something might be completely amiss. He walked towards the exit and suddenly bars popped up in front of him, barring his way out.

He turned around and gasped. There was a shadowy version of Ganon floating in front of him, holding a large sword. The phantom said, "Well, well, well. If it isn't the hero of time."

Link drew his sword and shield and said, "Yeah, and I'm here to destroy you."

The phantom laughed and said, "Oh, you amuse me. Destroy me? I think you'll be very disappointed to learn that I cannot be killed."

It floated a little ways back and a ball of light formed on his sword as he yelled, "You, on the other hand, can be!"

He flung the ball of of his sword straight towards Link. Link took his sword in both hands and swung at it. He hit it straight back at the phantom, who in return hit it back towards him. This continued for a few seconds, and then Link hit is slightly off beat. The phantom swung too soon, and was hit by its own energy ball. It collapsed to the ground and Link ran up and stabbed it in the chest.

However, it swung at him and hit him alongside the face with the blunt side of its blade. It floated back up and said, "Well, that was most unexpected. However, I doubt that you know what can defeat and what cannot. No normal weapon can permanently defeat me."

Link was about to think that maybe he should give up when he heard permanently. _Then, does that mean that a normal weapon can still defeat you temporarily?_

He smirked and said, "Why don't you come down here and fight me like a man?"

The phantom asked, "Do you seriously want to die?"

Link raised his sword and said, "I shall be the victor today, phantom. Show me your skill, head-to-head."

The phantom flew towards him, sword raised in the air. Suddenly, Link put his blade away and pulled out the Megaton hammer. He swung and hit the phantom in the midriff, sending it flying back. He then shot at least five arrows at it before it formed another energy ball and threw it at Link. This time, as they were bouncing the ball back and forth, Link was the one caught by an off beat blow and was shocked by the ball coming into contact with him.

He collapsed, feeling pain in every part of his body. The phantom landed and said, "So, now I think we know who is the winner."

Link threw his boomerang at it and the boomerang hit it in the side of the head. It recoiled from the blow and Link said, "No, we do not just yet."

The phantom's eyes began to glow red with rage. It said, "You dare to strike me again? With a cheap item like that, nonetheless? You will be punished for that."

It floated up and charged another energy ball. This time, Link had a different plan. He had his hands behind his back as if to swing the sword and bounce it back, and then the ball flew forward. Link suddenly whipped out his bow and loosed an arrow that he had smoothly slipped into the bow without the phantom noticing.

The arrow carried the energy ball with it and hit the phantom directly in the face. The phantom sank to the ground, seeming defeated. Then, it floated up and laughed as it vanished. Link heard its voice say, "I said I cannot be defeated by such puny weapons. We will meet again, young hero, and you will not be so lucky this time."

It vanished, and Link stood there, watching the air where it had been. His thoughts turned back to Ruto and he said, "I have to get back to her, and fast..."

_**If this dungeon wasn't long enough, then I don't know what is! Alright, next up will be water temple after some relationship building. Please review, and thanks for sticking through me and Link through thick and thin. Hope you all like the water temple when it come. :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Link learns the truth about his feelings

_**Occasional disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda.**_

Link urged his horse onward frantically, knowing that he had to get back to the Zora's Domain and fast. After he had cleansed the temple and returned to Saria, she suddenly received a telepathic message, and then began freaking out. When Link asked her what was wrong, she had told him that the Zora king was dying now. Link gasped, and then frantically told her to help him get back to his horse. She used all of her remaining power and somehow managed to teleport Link back to his horse. To his surprise, his horse didn't run from him, and he didn't even have to kick it or anything to get it going. It was almost as if Epona knew what was going on.

He raced over the fields of Hyrule, at nighttime. The moon was full and something told him, "If you do not reach the king by the time the full moon reaches the center of the sky, then the Zora king will have died."

Link found that Epona was sprinting at full speed to get back to the Domain. They both arrived back at the town and Link dashed into the entrance. He traced his way through the halls, running as fast as he could and at the same time pulling out the magic healing leaf that was in his pack. Sweat ran down his skin as he frantically raced, never stopping to even think about catching a breath. He reached the entrance to the king's room and found Zihark standing guard.

"You may not-oof!" he was rudely shoved aside by a frantic Link who shoved the door open and ran over to the side of the king. He was going a livid purple, and Link frantically asked, "How do I use this?"

He held up the leaf, which suddenly glowed a bright violet. It turned into sparkles and rested on the king. Almost instantly, there was a change. His skin transformed back to the healthy bluish-white that it was normally, and his breathing slowed to normal. Link's heart was beating so heavily that he could hear it, almost feel it pounding inside his head. His breath came in short rasps as he gasped for breath after that long run. His legs felt like they were going to give way at any moment now.

The king's eyes flashed open, and he saw both Link and Ruto standing above him. He smiled and said, "Thank...you, Link. I did not expect that you would actually have such a sense of urgency and the courage to bowl my own bodyguard aside."

Ruto cried, "Father! You're alive!"

She hugged him, tears of joy running down her face. The Zora king sat up and hugged her back, whispering, "Now, now, Ruto. It's alright. I'm back."

The Zora king looked past Link at the door to his chamber. Zihark was getting back up, muttering curses as he did. The king said, "I told you to let him in without delay."

Zihark said, "I didn't recognize him at first. Sorry, Link."

Link grinned and was about to say it was no problem when Ruto wrapped her arms around him and exclaimed, "Link, you were fantastic! How can I ever repay you for saving my beloved father?"

Link seemed surprised and said, "I don't...I...uh..."

Zihark said, "Ruto, it is alright to be joyous about this, but you are making Link embarrassed."

She stepped back from him, her smile still large as she gazed at Link. Link could have sworn that her lips mouthed...no...she wouldn't feel that way towards him. _Would she? I thought I saw her mouth, "I love you"...Did she really, though?_he wondered.

The Zora king stood up out of his bed and said, "Zihark, I have heard some strange stories from Ruto about you. You tried to keep Link and her apart. Why?"

Zihark seemed taken aback and said, "It just...isn't right. Link is a commoner, and she is royalty. Think about it, they don't go together."

The Zora king raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why is that?"

Zihark replied, "Look, he is a commoner, a ranch hand by birth, not royalty. Is it not said that royalty should not marry or have any affairs with commoners?"

Link frowned and said, "Zihark, I am not exactly a commoner."

Zihark said, "No, that isn't true. You may be the hero of time, but you were still born a commoner."

Link yelled, "Why are you so insistent upon ruining this relationship?! So what if I like her and she likes me?! It shouldn't matter!"

Zihark was about to say something to the contrary, but a zora came up and said, "My lord, we have discovered the source of...your..."

The zora was shocked that he seemed normal and stuttered, "S..ick...ness?"

The king asked, "What caused it?"

The zora managed to regain his senses and replied, "There is a disease in the water that causes zoras to not be able to breath. Their gills get blocked up and they are turning a livid purple when we find them."

The Zora king seemed distressed and said, "That is not good. I wouldn't want to send Ruto in now...wait. Can we design filtering masks for both Link and Ruto?"

The zora replied, "Yes. Why?"

The Zora king said, "Do it. We need to cleanse this water at the source, which I believe is the water temple. Do it now, and hurry it. Make sure that no other zoras get infected by stopping them from entering the water. Hurry, now!"

The zora nodded and ran off. Zihark said, "As I was-"

Link interrupted, "Zihark, shouldn't you go and help?"

Zihark looked at the king, and the king nodded. He sighed and walked out of the room. Link gave a sigh of relief and said, "At least he is gone now...now I have to another temple purging. Great...at least I'll have Ruto to come along with."

Ruto asked, "Why are you mentioning me of all people? Then again, we are supposed to be helping each other out..."

The king said, "No time now. Prepare your weapons for tomorrow and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a very busy day."

They both walked out and as Link was putting all of his weapons in order his thoughts returned to Ruto. Her beauty, her charming smile, her beautiful sapphire colored eyes. As he fell onto his bed to sleep, he decided something in his mind and said aloud, "I love her. Now that I think of it, I really do."

He rolled over and shut his eyes. Tomorrow would be perhaps the harshest day for him, as he would have to go underwater, something that he was definitely not used to. _Oh well, like I said, I'll have her by my side to help. I won't mention my love to her...just yet._

_**Hey guys, what do you think of that? Next chapter will be start of Water Temple! This time, there will actually be some (hopefully) creative puzzles! Hope you like, and please review on this chapter. Dungeon will not be split and will hopefully be finished tomorrow. Hope you enjoy! :)**_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Into the temple

The next day, Link was given his blue swimming suit. It was a very tough fiber that the zoras said was resistant against magic, but physical attacks could cut through easier, meaning that melee battles were going to be risky. He put it on and looked at himself in the mirror and saw himself in dark blue suit that had a strange golden helmet on the top, golden shoulder plates, and flippers where his shoes would be. He also had a mask that was currently reinforced with magic to filter out the harmful substances in the water. Zihark had given him his sword, saying that he did not need it any more. Link had been thankful and had taken the next few minutes afterwards to change into this strange looking outfit.

"Well, I'd better get going. I won't be able to take my hammer, as it will just sink in the water, and my bombs won't ignite in the water, so what's the point of brining them? Well, here we go now."

He walked out and Zihark said, "Come back safe, Link. I really hope that I can show off my new blade to you, because I personally think it is awesome."

Link grinned and said, "Hey, thanks, Zihark. Don't worry, I'll be back. See ya later!"

He waved and left. He walked on and found Ruto standing near the edge of the pool. He took a moment to examine the water, and was confused when he saw that the water seemed perfectly normal.

He asked, "I wonder what is up with the water? It isn't normal that it looks normal, yet is so harmful."

Ruto was now dressed in her armor with only one thing different. There was a veil around her face that was going to act as the filter. She replied, "None of us zora really know for sure. All we know is that it is harmful and that you and I have to take a precaution against it."

Link asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

Ruto sighed and replied, "The water temple is the source of all the clean water. We think that there might be something inside that is screwing with the purification system."

Link asked, "Purification system?"

Ruto asked, "How did you not know about it?"

Link replied, "Remember, I am technically a commoner. I don't know much about this stuff."

Ruto told him, "The purification system is a network of pipes far down under the water in the temple. Some of them have magical powers that I have never experienced, but most say that it was designed by a genius. This purification system spans the entire lake, although you cannot see because it is underground. This is why Lake Hylia has been pure for so long. Does that make sense to you?"

Link nodded and said, "Thanks for the description. So, some of the pipes are magical...I wonder what they do."

Ruto said, "Again, I don't think that many people know. It was designed in a time where there were strange creatures that even we do not remember the names of."

A zora came up and said, "Follow me, princess and hero. I will guide you to the water temple and down the secret entrance into purification system."

Ruto and Link leaped into the water and Link barely remembered to put his mask up before he landed in the cold water. He followed them, swimming under the water and trying to keep his eyes open. They stung at first, but as his eyes adjusted, the pain vanished and he saw that everything seemed to be a murky bluish-green. He followed the two figures that were swimming through the water and found that his hearing wasn't impaired by the water. This was because the helmet he had on covered his ears and did not let anything through, so the water did not block up his ears. What he heard was still strange, but he wouldn't have to knock the water out of his ears after he was done.

He followed them until they finally reached the Lake Hylia. From Link's vision, everything started turning a strange tint of purple as they went along. Finally, the water seemed to become clear as they approached the temple. Instead of taking the main entrance into the temple, their guide swam down to a clump of weed on the ground. He pushed it aside and revealed a secret, underwater passage leading right down to the purification system itself. Link was fascinated by this new discovery and thought, _I have to remember where that is, just in case I need to help them out with this sometime in the future._

They swam down and when they reached the entrance, Link took notice that the zora had no mask. He asked, "Um...why don't you have a mask for protection?"

The zora replied, "I have already faced it, survived, and become immune to it. It will not affect me now."

Ruto asked, "How are we even talking in here?"

The zora replied, "I guess it is one of the magics inside this purification system. Now, you and Ruto will have to go in alone. Zihark will later arrive to guide you back, and he wishes that you and especially Ruto come back alive."

Ruto wondered, _Does he...care for me? Is he perhaps jealous, jealous that Link likes me?_

The zora said, "Well, I have to go. I wish you good luck."

The zora swam out of the secret tunnel, leaving Link and Ruto floating there in the water. Link swam over and pushed open the metal door leading into the system. It slid open and Link was shocked by what he saw. There it was, a huge room filled with pipes that went in zig-zag patterns around the entire room. They were different colored, and the water coming out of them seemed perfectly pure, even though Link knew that it probably was not. He just gawked, staring at this immense work of geometry and art.

Ruto said, "Whoa...it is huge!"

Link asked, "Do we really have to search this...entire thing? This is going to take forever!"

Ruto said, "Yes, we have to. It is the only way to find the source of this impurity. From my knowledge, this is only one room of something far bigger than we could ever have imagined to this point."

Link swam forward, taking in the vastness of this huge room. The water was so clear that he could see almost as if he was on land. The walls were tiled and seemed to be blue because of the water. The pipes were not just on the ceiling or down below them. Rather, they were all over the room. Some pipes had entrances that probably took the water in to be purified by something inside. Link wondered how something of this proportions was even possible, considering the amount of time it would have taken to build just one of these complex pipelines, let alone this huge network of them.

He swam over to one of the open pipes and felt that it was sucking the water inward. Ruto swam over and said, "Well, here goes nothing."

They swam in and suddenly, Link heard a strange noise. He could have sworn that it sounded like a deep "dew dew dew". He wondered what it did, and then was aware that instantly popped out the other side and heard the a higher toned sound. This one sounded like, "dua dua dua". He asked, "Um...what just happened?"

He seemed surprised because his voice sounded strangely squeaky. Ruto shrugged and said, "Like I said, I've never been here before. This is an odd place indeed."

Link then noticed that this room seemed nearly twice as large as the other one. He asked, "Is this room supposed to be bigger than the other room?"

Ruto sighed and replied, "I've told you five times now, I don't know!"

Link seemed taken aback and said, "Sorry. I'm just really curious right now."

He looked back at the pipe and said, "Umm...this pipe wasn't that big..."

The pipe that they had come through suddenly seemed huge, nearly three five times the size that it had been. Link began to wonder what was going on, and then said, "We should move on. This room is just like the other rooms."

Ruto said, "Right you are. Let's get a move on."

They swam to another one of the pipes and when they swam through, they heard the same noises when they went in and came out of it. Link asked, "What is up with these pipes?!"

Ruto said, "Really, Link. Do you have to ask such questions to me right now? I am in the middle of trying to figure this out myself."

Now, they were in a different looking room. This one only had two pipes, but there were strange turtles floating around in the water. They seemed to have smiles on their faces and their heads were poking up above their shells, which were pretty large. They just floated around with no real goal in mind. There in the center of the room was something that seemed like it was supposed to be mixing up the water, but it was inactive. It looked like a large set of brushes on a black pole.

Ruto commented, "Weird turtles..."

Link looked around and noticed that the pipes seemed normal size now. He said, "Ruto, I think that we might be shrinking when we enter certain pipes and growing back to normal when we enter others."

Ruto asked, "Why do you think that?"

Link said, "The pipes were a lot bigger when we first entered them. Now look. They are normal sized."

Ruto took a moment to look at what Link was talking about, and then said, "You know, you're right. What magic is at work here?"

Link looked up and saw that there were several turtles jammed inside the machinery of this strange mechanism. Link said, "There is the source of one of our problems."

Ruto and Link swam up and Link tried to pry one of the turtles loose, and found that it didn't work. Right now, the machine wasn't even active. Link said, "We have to find some way to activate this."

They both began looking around, and found a small keyhole up at the top. Link guessed, "That must activate the mechanism. Now, the question is...where is the key?"

Ruto commented, "It wouldn't be anywhere near here. It has to be somewhere else in this huge system of pipes. Just how big is this, anyways?"

Link replied, "I thought you said that it takes up the entire Lake Hylia in room."

Ruto said, "I'm beginning to think that this takes up a lot more room than that. I have a feeling that it might enshroud all of Hyrule."

Link laughed and said, "Ruto, that's ridiculous."

Ruto sighed and said, "Link..."

Link said, "Sorry, but that was just a ridiculous idea. I mean, do you realize how pointless that would be?"

Ruto thought about it, and then said, "Yeah, I suppose that you're right. I'm just curious about how we're going to find our way out of this place once we're done. If it is this confusing, then I'm beginning to think that it was designed like a huge maze."

One of the turtles brushed past Link and knocked him forward. He looked at it and said, "That thing is strong! It just brushed past me and knocked me forward!"

Ruto, however, was not listening to him. She was heading towards the other pipe, which was red. Link gasped and swam frantically after her. He heard the same sound and arrived at the other end of a normal sized pipe. The pipes were still about as large as they were, but not huge like they had been that one time. He saw Ruto looking around in confusion, and then found that this room had a purple tint to it. He swam up to Ruto and said, "I think this is one of the impure rooms."

Ruto turned to him with an eyebrow raised and asked, "One? There could be a lot of these rooms!"

Link began to look around and found that there seemed to plants sticking out of some of the pipes. The plants were not normal, however. They had strange red heads with white polka dots. They also had huge teeth that could easily take a chunk out of a man. They all seemed to be sleeping, not paying attention to the two intruders in this room.

Link whispered, "I think that we should just avoid these plants if at all possible."

Ruto nodded, and then said, "This talking underwater still feels wrong. I mean, I've never been able to do it like this, and I've been in water for most of my life!"

Link began to look around, and saw that there was only one of the pipes that really seemed usable. However, it was surrounded by yet another strange thing. These were small, almost octopus like things that had mouths like a deku. Their yellow eyes were scanning for intruders at every moment. Ruto whispered, "Octoroks."

Link pulled out his sword and shield and swam forward towards that pipe. The ocotoroks noticed them and began shooting nuts at them. Link held his shield in the way and found that he could deflect the rocks that they were shooting back at them. He knocked all of the rocks back and easily subdued the octoroks. Now the green pipe was clear, and they both swam through it.

The next few hours were spent getting lost in this maze like place. Neither Ruto or Link had any idea where they were going, and did not dare separate, for fear that they might not see each other again. This continued for a long time, with neither person ever finding any sign of a key, or anything. Sometimes they were big, and sometimes they were small, but they were always lost.

Then, they happened upon a stroke of luck. They passed through a shrinking pipe and arrived in a room that had a purplish tint. Then, Link could barely see the key floating in the middle of the room. He laughed with glee and swam forward to get it. Suddenly, a titanic monstrosity floated down in front of him. It was a big octorok made even bigger by how small they were. It floated down until Link was directly in front of one of its many huge yellow eyes.

Link freaked and said, "Run!"

He began swimming away when one of its tentacles hit the entrance of the pipe, denting it in and sealing off their escape route for the moment. Link now turned around with his sword and shield in hand and just stared at this enormous creature. Suddenly, it began trying to suck them in. It was working, until Link grabbed Ruto and used his hookshot to pull himself up to one of the eyes. They landed near it and they both began to hack at it. The octorok was freaking out because of this, and then the eye went black because it was so badly beat up.

It shook them off and began using its tentacles to stir the water into a whirlpool that was sucking them towards it mouth. The hookshot left Link's hand, floating off to a distance that Link could not reach. He began muttering curses, and then remembered his boomerang. Would it work? He pulled it out and threw it at another one of its five eyes. The boomerang spiraled forward and slammed right into the pupil of one of the eyes. Then it returned and the giant octorok stopped the whirlpool, too busy squirming in pain to continue.

Suddenly, three huge looking turtles that looked like the ones in the cleaning room suddenly appeared. They were swimming towards Ruto and Link, their mouths beginning to open in anticipation of a meal. Link managed to grab his hookshot and Ruto and shot the hookshot straight at another one of the eyes. They zipped towards it, barely avoiding the open mouths of the eager turtles. The landed near it and hacked away at it until it turned black.

They swam away from it and Link thought, _That's two down..._

Link was about to shoot his hookshot at another eye when both he and Ruto were grabbed by one of its huge tentacles. They were swept up to the mouth almost instantly and Link didn't even have time to think before he was sucked into the mouth. However, thinking as fast as he could, he grabbed Ruto's arm and stabbed his sword into the skin below him, halting their progress inward. Suddenly, the octorok howled in pain, sending them flying out of the mouth and past the hungry turtles.

Link spun around and shot his hookshot again, still holding onto Ruto's arm. She cried, "Not again! This really hurts!"

The hook attached and they shot forward at the eye. They hacked away at it until it turned black again and then swam away once more. The ocotorok seemed to be trying to retreat now, but there was no way for it to go. Now all Link and Ruto had to do was finish it. Link went for the final blow and shot the hookshot at its final eye.

However, it was not done just yet. It ejected ink out everywhere, prohibiting their way of seeing. Then, they were both separated from each other by the huge tentacles. Link called into the think ink, but nothing that came out was understandable. He closed his eyes because the ink was hurting it and then he felt something like magic guide his hand with the hookshot to move up and stopped it a single point.

Desperately, he shot it, and latched onto the final eye. Without opening his eyes once, he hacked at it furiously. It wallowed in pain, and then began to fall down dead. The ink cleared almost instantly and the turtles vanished. The key, though big to them, was still there waiting to be picked up. He let out a cry of glee, and then saw that Ruto was nowhere to be found.

"Ruto! Where are you?" he called frantically.

She called back in reply, "I'm...up here. I really didn't think I was going to live through that."

Link looked up and saw her up against one of the pipes, breathing hard. He picked up the key and floated up to her. She asked, "How did you defeat that thing?"

Link replied, "I don't know. I think it was either luck, or this Triforce."

Ruto smiled and said, "Link, I don't know what to say right now. You have helped me so much, you've just saved my life, and I still haven't thanked you enough."

Link asked, "Uh...what do you mean?"

Ruto smiled and said, "I'll show you when we get out onto land."

She swam towards the only open pipe in the room and Link watched her leave, still confused as to what she meant. He smiled and thought, _Maybe she does love me. I don't know yet, but the way she was hinting at it, I would almost be led to believe that she does._

He swam after her, still holding the key. Then he remembered all of the time they spent getting lost and his horrors returned. He knew now that this was not going to be a place he was going to return to anytime soon.

_**Okay, I promised some people that I would not split this chapter. I'm sorry that I had to, and it was not because of the crazy length. Things did not go as planned today and so I did not even come close to getting a chance to finish this one, as I started later than I usually do. So, I'm sorry, and you'll see the rest tomorrow, plus an extra plot twist right afterwards to make up for the inconvenient lapse. Sincerely, DarkCloud780.**_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: Fixing the purification system

Link followed Ruto into one of the huge pipes and when he heard the sounds yet again, he cried, "God, these sounds are getting on my nerves!"

Ruto said, "Yes, and in fact this entire place is getting on my nerves. We are so lost right now, and there doesn't seem to be a map anywhere."

Link looked around, and then remembered that he was holding this key. He put it away and said, "Why don't these pipes have anything on them directing us towards...wait a second."

Ruto asked, "What? Did you have something in mind?"

Link asked, "Where does the water go normally throughout this? Doesn't it normally go to the cleaning sources first and then it somehow ejects the cleaned water?"

Ruto shrugged and replied, "I don't know. That's a good theory, through."

Link said, "I'm not satisfied with it being just a theory."

He swam up to one of the pipes and felt for a flow inward, something he had not been doing for a long time. There was a flow outward, gentle, but noticeable. He grinned and said, "I've found our way forward. Feel for the current. If they push outward, then the water is being ejected. If they are flowing inward, follow them!"

He swam around, feeling for a pipe that flowed inward. When he found it, he swam in, followed by Ruto. They were shrunk again, but Link figured t that being small made it easier to feel the currents. He swam around, trying to find pipes that had a current flowing inward, and upon finding one, he swam in.

He continued this process, hoping that he wasn't being led in circles by this strange idea. He began to notice that some of the currents were stronger than others, and took those ones. He found it strange that those pipes always felt like they were sucking water inward. He figured it was just a magic trick and continued onward. Now, the turtles were getting snappy and Link and Ruto found themselves having to fend them off. The strange piranha plants had also woken up and were a nuisance. So far, though, nothing was troubling them too much. There were no more big octoroks, for which they were thankful for. The last one had been a near death experience for both of them.

They continued for another series of hours, and Link began to wonder if his theory was right at all. Then, they happened upon another stroke of luck. There, floating in the middle of one of the rooms, was a map, a normal sized map in a normal sized room. Link floated forward and grabbed it. It was sealed in a watertight container and it read, "To whomever reads this, never trust the currents. Instead, tell the pipe where you want to go, and it will take you there. Remember, though, some pipes will reject you if you command them."

Link let the map float away, his jaw wide open underneath the mask. He asked, "We could have just done that all along? What kind of a nut designed this place?!"

Ruto sighed and asked, "Are you about done asking questions that you know are not going to be answered about this place, Link? It's actually beginning to get on my nerves."

Link sighed and said, "Ruto, if you knew, then you wouldn't be saying that. I, much like you are, am completely confused. We find one theory, and then we get proven wrong by something that would normally never work in a million years. I mean, the map told us to just command the pipe to take us where we wanted to go. I mean, had I known that, we wouldn't be this lost right now. I wonder what Zihark is thinking..."

Ruto giggled and replied, "Knowing him, he's complaining that we aren't here yet."

Link grinned and said, "Alright, let's try one of these pipes and command it to take us to the water cleaning room."

They swam up and Link authoritatively said, "Pipe! Take us to the water cleaning room!"

They swam in, and then were ejected right back out. Ruto asked, "Is that what it meant by rejecting us?"

Link sighed and swam up to another one. He did the same and then swam through. This one actually let them through and they arrived at the room which had the brushes on the pole. Link eyed the key and said, "Well, I hope that this is the right key for the job, otherwise all of our work will have gone to waste."

He swam up and put the key in. He took a moment to breath in deeply before turning it. Suddenly, electricity began crackling through out the room, all hitting the turtles. The turtles began to slowly move towards the pool and Link said, "I think we had better get out of this mess."

They swam away, trying their hardest to avoid the electrical beams. After swimming around the turtles and barely managing to find ways to avoid the electricity, they got out of the way and then were surprised when all of the turtles exploded into blue flame. The machine began turning and a bunch of strange purple material started coming in. It began getting attached to the pole, and began forming little clusters of muck that was wiggling, attaching itself even more to the brush. Suddenly, it stopped altogether.

A mechanical sounding voice echoed through the water saying, "Warning! Warning! There is a strange impurity in this temple. Advise all security units move to destroy."

Ruto said, "Maybe we should tell these pipes to take us to the impurity."

Link grinned and asked, "What did you think I was planning to do?"

He swam back down to the pipe nearest him and barked, "Pipe! Take us to the impurity!"

He swam in and Ruto followed. Now, they were in a room that was infested with strange purple substance. However, it was all avoiding them because of the magic in their masks. Link began to swim forward and noticed a huge metal door that the purple material seemed to be leaking out of. There were a series of different switches that they would have to push in the right order, and there was a set on either side.

"Ruto, you take the left and I'll take the right!" Link called. He began to feel that maybe he had the ability to be in command of every situation.

Ruto smiled and said, "Alright! Will do!"

They both swam to their separate locations and Link asked, "Ruto, which of these switches do you think we should start with?"

Ruto thought for a moment, and then said, "Link, try the one right next to you!"

He turned and found that there was a steel lever near him. It was not rusted, which surprised him. He pulled it down easily and heard a clicking noise. He looked around cautiously, hoping that something bad was not going to happen because of that. He breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened and called, "Alright, Ruto, try one at your end!"

He saw her swim down to one of the levers below her and pull it. There was another clicking sound, and Link suddenly heard the lever near him slam up again. Then they heard, "Warning, five minutes until lock-down sequence initiated. Please enter correct code to stop the lock-down."

Link sighed and lifted his lever back up. He then called, "Ruto, try another one!"

Ruto swam down to the very bottom one and pulled it. There was a clicking sound, and nothing happened at his end. He grinned and swam up to the top and pushed the button at the top. There was a clicking sound, and then all of the switches reset. He growled angrily and swam down to pull his lever. He pushed it down and heard Ruto push hers in again. He swam down to the second to last one on the bottom and found that it was a slot for a sword. He assumed that he wasn't supposed to activate that one until the end and pushed the lever at the very bottom down. There was a click, and nothing happened.

Link noticed that there were six different switches, each one that seemed to be glowing an eerie white. Even the sword holes were glowing, but they were glowing a strange tint of red. Ruto swam up and seemed to find one to her liking and pushed it. Then, Link noticed that one of the faint lights vanished, and he swam up to the switch to activate it. He found that this proved to be the solution to the problem, and so this process continued until only the sword holes were left.

They swam down to them and pulled out their swords in unison. They heard the voice call, "Three minutes until lock-down procedure."

They both stabbed their swords into locks and heard the voice call, "Locks released. Warning, impure creature coming out of main section. Destroy immediately."

A huge, hulking mass of mold that seemed to be rolled into a ball at the moment floated up towards them. It was dripping with the strange purple goo and it had one huge eye gazing at them. Link pulled out his boomerang and threw it, hoping that it would so something. It hit and took off a large chunk of goo that was near the eye.

The creature seemed irritated more than hurt by this and small tentacles began protruding from its body. They began heading towards Link, who had just caught his boomerang. He threw his boomerang in such a manner that it swerved in different directions nearly three times before coming back to him. Almost all of the tentacles were severed from the blow, and the creature let out an awful growl of pain.

Then, a huge series of magical blasts surged past them and hit the creature in various spots, knocking a whole bunch of the goo off. It shrieked in pain and suddenly four arms protruded from its side. It charged forward at the machines that had shot the blasts and proceeded to rip them to pieces. Link watched in horror, and then yelled, "How are we supposed to beat this thing if it is that strong?!"

Ruto replied, "I don't know!"

Ruto looked at her blade, and then the eye. She grimaced, and then threw her blade through the water. It surged forward and hit the beast, slipping straight through the eye and into the beast itself. It wallowed in pain and then fell down, dead. Suddenly, all of the purple muck around them vanished, leaving the room seeming to be sparkling.

Link said, "Whew. Well, that takes care of that, even if you don't have a sword now. Let's get out of here."

They swam towards one of the pipes and Link said, "Pipe. Take us to the entrance."

They swam in and were almost instantly ejected back out. Link yelped in surprise, and then began laughing. He had not expected to be rejected by that pipe. He swam over to another one and said, "Pipe! Take us to the entrance!"

They swam in and were shot back out again. Link grumbled, "Okay, now this is getting ridiculous."

He swam over to the last available pipe and called, "Pipe! Take us to the entrance! If you do not, then I will simply revive that creature that so infected you..."

Ruto giggled and when they swam through and arrived at the entrance, Ruto said, "I didn't think that you would go so far as to intimidate a pipe."

Link said, "Those things were getting on my nerves."

They swam out and found no Zihark at the entrance. Link sighed and said, "He must have left out of boredom."

They swam up to the surface and swam up to the shore. There, Link pulled his mask down and asked, "Alright, I can tell this took a long time."

All around them, the moonlight said all. The gleam of the moon on the water and and the faint sight of the land around them confirmed just how long they had been inside the system. Ruto said, "Well, that was an adventure."

Link said, "Yeah it was. I hope we don't have to go back in there again, I really don't want to face another giant octorok again. I know that they're big, but compared to us, that thing was titanic!"

Ruto said, "Oh, that reminds me of something."

She sat down and beckoned for Link to sit next to her. Not knowing why, Link simply complied. Ruto's smile vanished and uncertainty filled her face as she began saying, "Um...Link. I know that I've probably not been much of a help at all of late, but you still helped me. You saved my father, you saved me back in that town, you saved in the fire temple, and you've saved me inside that purification system."

Link nodded and then whispered, "Go on."

She said, "Link...I...I...um..."

She couldn't seem to be finding the right words, but Link knew what she was trying to say. Instead, he lifted her chin and said, "Ruto, I have something to say to you as well."

He suddenly said, "I love you."

For a moment, there was a silence between them, broken only by the chirping of the crickets. There was a light of happiness in Ruto's eyes. She was happier than ever before now. Her eyes were fixated on Link's and then she said, "I love you too, Link."

She leaned forward suddenly and gently pressed her lips to his. Link returned her kiss, and they held it, both feeling something new and invigorating flow through them. For once, Link began to feel that things were starting to go right in his life. He didn't care suddenly that he was the hero, nor about the stress that the responsibility of being the hero had put on him. He just let himself slip into a quite embrace with Ruto, wishing that it would never end.

Then, they broke it, the need for air overtaking their desires. They looked into each others eyes for a few moments longer, and then Link saw something out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over, and then leaped up when he saw a tall figure wielding a huge, jagged blade walking towards them. He said, "Hello, young hero."

Link asked in bewilderment, "Shadow Link?"

The figure shook his head and said, "No, not quite. However, I am the one that made the Shadow Link."

Link swallowed hard and whispered, "Ganondorf..."

The figure once again shook his head and said, "No, I am not. Ganondorf has been permanently killed, and will probably never return in this history."

The blade began to glow red and the figure said, "It is time for you to die."

He ran forward at amazing speeds for someone that seemed completely relaxed beforehand. His blade stabbed through Link and he whispered, "Before you die, allow me to tell you the name of the new king of evil, which would be me."

Link looked into the eyes of this man, and then saw a light appear around him, illuminating the face. He gasped and his eyes went wide when he saw the face. He suddenly was launched away and was in a blinding light. Before he blacked out, he cried, "No way! Zihark!!"

_**Well, here you go. Consider the big octorok to be the actual boss, as this one was kind of lame. Sorry about that, I was just uninspired at the moment. Hope you liked the sudden surprise ending to the chapter and next chapter Link will get something special.**_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen Revised: The Master Sword

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda or anything affiliated with it.**_

_**Hey guys, I just wanted you to know that after I posted this chapter the first time was when I realized that the eight year skip was not a good idea. I revised this so that I could have things much simpler. Hope you like the shortened length of time!**_

Link awoke, the thin light of the crescent moon streaming down on him through the forest leaves. He had remembered it all, Zihark's revelation to be the king of evil, the sword stabbing through him, the light that revealed the traitor's face, the presence of...Ruto. He stood up and looked around frantically, as if hoping to spot her. He looked around, his eyes wild with fear. Ruto, the girl that he had fallen in love with, in that monster's hands...

"No, it's too late now. She's probably dead, or at his side, seduced by some evil charm, or..." his voice trailed off while he muttered that.

"Or what?" he heard a familiar voice ask.

He wheeled around to see the skull kid smiling at him. This time, he was holding a strange leafy horn. Link asked, "What are you doing back here?"

The skull kid laughed and said, "You really don't know? I've only been watching you sleep for a very long time now."

Link sighed and asked, "How long have I asleep?"

The skull kid began to think and said, "Let's see, I counted...I think you've been asleep in that magic shield for nearly three years now."

Link jumped back in surprise when he heard that and exclaimed "That can't be right! I can't have been asleep for that long...could I have?"

The skull kid laughed again and said, "You don't believe me. That's good, for it is never wise to trust a skull kid."

Link looked at him with surprise and said, "You used the same words that the deku..."

The skull kid nodded and said, "I had been watching your progress throughout the entire forest. To tell the truth, I was even there when you got on your horse and rode off like a little kid that had been scared off by a big monster."

Link said, "I was going to save the Zora king then."

The skull kid leaped up onto a stump nearby and said, "Whatever. By the way, you were really only sleeping for a month, actually. Still a long time, but you get the idea. I'll lead you to the forest temple if you want."

Link replied, "Why not? Let's go."

The skull kid laughed and said, "Alright, then follow me closely!"

He leaped away, and Link began running after him. His strides were easier to keep this time, as if he had grown stronger somehow. He ran after the skull kid, and found that it wasn't taking him all sorts of strange paths this time around. It led him through the darkness of the forest for a few minutes, and then he stopped.

The skull kid turned around and asked, "Are you tired yet?"

Link gave him a confused look, and then guessed, "You're not leading me to the right place at all, are you?"

The skull kid burst out laughing and said, "Quick to catch on! You are very clever, hero. Let us continue."

It ran off, this time taking a different direction. Link followed it through some heavy underbrush and found that he was having a hard time keeping up with its nimbleness. Finally, they pushed through to another clearing where the skull kid stopped. This time, he asked, "Where do you want to go, anyways?"

Link gave him an annoyed look and said, "I thought you were taking me to the proof that I've been asleep for a month or something like that!"

The skull kid sighed and said, "Alas, you still don't get the meaning of don't trust a skull kid. You still bother to trust me, even when a very wise deku that is now dead warned you not to."

Link gave him a quizzical look and asked, "Why are you reinforcing that?"

The skull kid yelled, "It's our motto! If we don't keep it in line, then people will bother us all the time, and we don't want that!"

Link was staring in shock. He asked, "Skull kids have a motto?"

The skull kid sighed and said, "This is why we don't help people. It's because they are dumb. And you, hero, are perhaps the dumbest person I have ever met so far!"

Link would have pulled out his sword, but he remembered that he probably did not have it and it would not be wise to scare the skull kid off. Instead, he searched his bag for any rupees. He still had at least thirty, and he pulled them out and said, "Look, can you just take me to where you wanted to take me? I'll give you these thirty rupees if you do."

The skull kid looked up at the rupees and Link could have sworn that his eyes seemed to gleam nearly twice as bright. He leaped forward and snatched them, then said, "Deal! I'll take you there right now!"

He blew his horn and the forest around them seemed to transform into a ruined temple. There, all around him, was where the forest temple had been. The charred remains of the healing plant, the forest that had been inside the temple...just about everything that was once hidden by walls was now revealed and destroyed. He asked, "Wha...what happened?"

The skull kid said, "When Zihark declared war on Hyrule, one of the first temples he targeted was this one, mainly because it had the healing plant. I warned Saria before they came and she managed to escape, but they burned this entire temple to the ground. Worse, they brought the phantom Ganondorf back to life."

Link was still looking at the destruction in bewilderment. He asked, "How long ago did this happen?"

The skull kid began thinking and it was a good ten minutes before he replied, "It happened about the time I found you which was at the beginning of the month. You were surrounded in a blue, glowing light in a sort of a shrine. I moved you out to keep you safe from the marching armies."

Link's ears perked up when he heard the word, "shrine". He turned to the skull kid and asked, "Can you take me to the shrine?"

The skull kid replied happily, "Sure, and since you gave me whopping thirty rupees, all you have to do is ask and you'll never have to pay me again to go anywhere in this forest. Remember, through, even though it will not apply to you, our motto is still there. Tell everyone not to trust skull kids."

Link grinned and said, "Deal."

The skull kid blew the horn and they appeared in a strange and now ruined shrine. There, in the middle of what looked like a foggy grove, stood a coldly shining blade. As Link walked towards it, he saw that it was a long sword, finely crafted. The hilt was colored purple and when Link put his hand on it felt just right in his hands. It had the symbol of the Triforce on it, meaning that it had to be something special.

He asked, "What is this, skull kid?"

The skull kid replied, "I do not know. I've only known that it has been here for thousands of years, ever since the creation of this magical land."

Link tugged and found that it resisted. He tugged again and felt that it would not come loose. Being somewhat stubborn, he stood on the pedestal that the blade was embedded in and pulled with all of his might. Suddenly, a light began to glow at the base of the sword, and then he pulled it out suddenly. He nearly fell back, and was half-blinded by the light that came surging out of the pedestal. He saw the mist shrink back and then disappear in the light.

Then, it was over, and Link noticed a strange oddity. The sky was no longer night. Instead, broad daylight shone down into the forest. Suddenly, a cherry fell off of one of the trees and hit the skull kid on his head. He suddenly said, "Whoa! I remember what that blade is called! Congratulations, hero. You have just pulled out the legendary Master Sword, blade of evil's bane. Nothing, not even a greater shadow creature, can withstand it. You hold the key to victory for Hyrule, now."

Link stared with a new wonder at the blade, and then his Triforce shone brightly on his hand. The skull kid said, "Holy cow...I knew it was a good thing to trust you! Yes, and now my fellow skull kids and I will help in whatever ways we can whenever you are in the forest! I will notify them about you, but first, let me take you to the edge of the forest. An old owl has been flying around near here, and whenever I talk to him, he says he is looking for some hero of time. I think it might be wise for you to talk to him."

He blew his horn and Link found himself at the edge of the forest. There, perched on a nearby tree, was a very bewildered looking owl. This one was huge, through, not the kind that one would normally expect to see. It was actually about Link's height, and was staring right at him. Link asked, "Are you the owl who has been searching for me?"

The owl said, "Yes, I suppose I am. Are you the hero of time, though?"

Link held up the Master Sword and the owl said, "Goodness gracious! That confirms it, then! You see, Ruto has been lonely without you, and when she heard from the skull kids around here that your body was in there, we had lost all hope of you being alive."

Link grinned and said, "Never trust a skull kid."

The owl hooted almost like it was laughing, and then said, "Link, I will take you back to the resistance force against Zihark. Ruto has missed you for a long time."

It flew down towards him and picked him up in its talons by the shoulders. Link grinned and commented, "Nah, it hasn't been that long. Only a month..."

_**Lol! I did not know what I was thinking with the eight year lapse! Okay, now that I have that fixed, hopefully things will go well in other reader's eyes. Now, the next chapter will be coming tomorrow, as well as most likely the intro for the next dungeon. Hope you like the fixed lapse in time and will be seeing you later.  
**_


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: A royal problem

"What do you mean she's gone!?" Link asked. He had heard that Ruto had been there, but now heard from the head members that she was gone now.

"Hero, we tried to save her, but Zihark's minions were too great in number," said one of the elders in charge of the force.

Link sighed and asked, "Where is she now?"

The elder replied, "Well, Zihark took over Hyrule Castle now, so I would assume that she is there, waiting to be forcefully married to the king of evil. Zihark had his eyes set on her since the day she was a teen."

Link muttered, "Why...?"

He asked, "Can you give me transportation to the castle?"

The elder replied, "The owl can, though I think he's sleeping right now..."

Link slapped his palm to his face and said, "Wake him up! Doesn't he know how urgent this is?!"

Link walked out to where the owl was perched in his tree, loudly snoring. He sighed and then yelled, "Wake up!"

The owl, startled from his sleep, hooted a few times out of surprise, and then when he saw Link asked, "What is this time? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

Link said, "You're taking me to Hyrule Castle, right now."

The owl seemed surprised and then said, "No I'm not! I, good sir, shall be sleeping for the rest of the day!"

With that, his head nodded and he fell asleep again. Link knew that he wasn't fully asleep, and said, "Ruto's gone missing, and she is inside the castle."

The owl woke again with a bunch of surprised hoots and said, "Well, why didn't you say so? I'll take you there right away, good sir!"

He picked Link up in his talons and began flying off to the castle. Link thought, _This is a weird owl for sure._

Within moments, the castle came into view, and Link stared at the desolate darkness that surrounded and the owl said, "Perfect for covert infiltration, don't you think, good sir."

He set him down near the ruins of the front gate and said, "This is where I shall leave you to your own devices. I do not think I have enough energy for a return trip. I'm sorry, good sir."

The owl flew away, leaving Link alone there in that desolate place. Nothing seemed to be alive around him. The gate, he noticed, had been smashed in after the hinges had been corroded by some foul acid. Inside was the main hallway, and there were no guards in sight. Carefully, Link drew his sword and entered the hallway, glancing around cautiously to make sure that there was nothing going to pop up out of nowhere.

He walked forward towards the door to the next room, and then when he pressed himself against it to listen for voices, he heard two definite ones on the other side. Two Moblins were talking about Ruto.

"So where did they take her again?"

"Beats me, I thought you knew."

"Darn it! You never bother to ask about these things until way too late!"

"Listen, the king probably has her in her own room. He's trying to court her, remember?"

Link thought, _So that's why he was trying to keep me away from her..._

"Oh yeah...isn't she still refusing to come out of her room? She said before that she only loves one person."

"That hero of time? Yeah, she still clings to the fact that he might still be alive like you might cling to wreckage out at sea."

Link was half-tempted to slam open the door, cut the two moblins into pieces, and rush up to the bedrooms to free her, but that would be far too risky right now. There could be hordes of other guards nearby. Instead, he began looking around the hallway he was in. The moment he turned around, however, a club smashed him in the face, knocking him through the door and causing him to black out.

He awoke inside a cell and he heard a moblin say, "So, you tried to sneak into the master's castle, eh? This prison will teach you not to do such things."

He looked up and saw a shadowy figure leave the dim light of the cell. He sat up and began looking around. He knew that his sword and shield were gone, he didn't have to think about that. He saw them lying on a table right outside, along with all of his other gear. He still had his tunic on, which was good for a change.

"So...you finally arrive and you get captured in the process. Some hero you are," he heard a female voice say.

He looked over, half expecting to see Ruto sitting there in one of the cells. Instead, he saw a human figure about his age sitting down, facing him. She had the royal robes of the princess of Hyrule on, her blond hair flowed down to her shoulders in front, and her green eyes were staring with a strange sort of hope at him.

Link said, "I was caught off guard. Every hero is now and then."

He began contemplating how to get out of the cell when he heard the girl ask, "Who are you, anyways?"

Link replied, "My name is Link. I am the hero of time which everyone has been expectantly waiting for."

The girl seemed surprised and said, "You are? That's something I've never heard anyone claim themselves to be."

Link held up his left hand and the Triforce of Courage shone dimly. The girl said, "So then you really are the hero of time. Then I shall introduce myself. I am Zelda Kisteneil Hyrule. You may simply call me Zelda, however. The full names are always too hard for anyone to remember."

Link paid attention to the name, but wasn't paying attention to whatever else she said after that. Rather, he was thinking of a way to escape. He had to free Ruto at any cost, and then get her somewhere safe. His mind began racing through all the possible ideas. He could ask her if she knew a way, he could try climbing out the window, though that would leave his gear behind, and leaving the Master Sword behind was not a good idea.

"Link, are you listening?" he heard Zelda ask. She had rambled on for a bit after she stated her name. From what Link had caught, it was mostly just childhood histories.

To keep her from yelling at him, he lied, "Yeah, I'm listening."

She continued on, none of the words entering his head. Suddenly, he came up with an idea. He could climb out the window and then use stealth to double back here, get his gear, free Zelda, and then both she and him could go up to free Ruto and then get out of the castle before anyone noticed. Or, he could also take that moment to destroy Zihark...

She asked, "So, do you have a plan in mind of how to get us out of here? I am assuming that you are just thinking instead of listening to me."

Link stood up and said, "Alright, you'll need to move away from the window so I can climb out. I'll come back around through the castle to reclaim my gear, but in the meantime you have to somehow make it seem like I'm still here."

Zelda smiled and said, "Anything to help you out."

She moved away and then began bundling the blankets on one of the bunks to make it look like he was sleeping on it. She then into the bunk above it and whispered, "I'll wait here patiently."

Link had already slipped out the window and was now climbing across to another window across the way. He thought, _If I stay on the same floor, I should not have any relative difficulty coming back around._

Then he noticed that the actual castle was a little ways away. He was just in a prison right out behind it. He sighed and muttered, "Complications, complications."

He swung into one of the other windows after taking a moment to visualize where he was. The prison was small, a squat, wooden building that was only three stories high. He looked around while he was in the prison and saw a light coming around the corner of one of the hallways. He looked around quickly and found a crate that he could duck behind. He did so and waited. The light got brighter and brighter as the guard neared, but it never revealed him. Finally, the guard came into view and just walked right on past Link down the next hallway.

Quiet as a mouse, Link slipped out from behind the crate and headed down the hallway. He turned and entered the room that he was pretty sure had his equipment in it. He opened it and walked in to find that it was empty. He thought, _Not a good guess._

He quickly left and closed the door. He went over to the next one and peeked in. This one was the right room. He walked in and picked up all of his gear. Zelda asked, "How are you going to get me out?"

Link said, "I'm going to find the jail keeper here, kill him, and take his keys so I can get you out. Can you be patient until then?"

He walked out the door and now surveyed his surroundings. He thought, _I don't want to attract too much attention, so I'm going to have to stay quiet around here._

He walked around, and then had an idea. He walked back to the corner of the other hallway, and waited for the other guard. He came back around, and then Link slipped up behind him and put the sword up to his neck. The moblin guard seemed surprised, but didn't utter a sound for fear that the unknown person would kill it. Link whispered, "Put out your lantern."

It complied, giving a harsh blow and dousing it. He then dragged the moblin behind the crate and asked, "Where is the jail keeper?"

The moblin muttered, "Take the hallway I was just down and take the second hallway on the left." Its voice was filled with fear.

Link said, "Thanks, and I'll let you live for now."

He brought his sword up and bashed it on the head, knocking it out cold. He then left it behind the crate and walked down the path that the moblin had designated. In his mind, he was desperately hoping that he had not been tricked. _Maybe that should also be a motto. Never trust a moblin. Doesn't have the same kick to it, but it works..._he thought.

He turned down the hallway to his left and walked up to a large, metal door at the end. He knocked on it and when he heard the moblin call, "Come on in...", he did.

The moblin was faced away from him at the moment, gazing at a strange portrait. The moblin asked, "Well? Do you have a good reason for violating my privacy?"

Link walked up and put the sword to the back of jail keepers neck before saying, "Actually, all I need is your keys."

The moblin gasped in surprise and asked, "How did you get out?"

Link replied, "You forgot to put bars on your windows, idiot. Next time, design those windows...with bars."

He kicked the moblin in the back of the neck, bashing it up against the wall. It fell backward knocked out, and Link bent over to pick up its keys. He found that there were only three and wondered, _Is there more than one jail keeper here?_

He walked back and opened the door to Zelda's cell. She came out and said, "Okay, now what?"

Link replied, "Now, we have to go all the way to the bottom of a three story building...unnoticed."

Zelda didn't seem surprised. In fact, she said, "Well, let's get going, then. I would rather get out of here as soon as possible than just wait around."

Link seemed surprised and said, "Well, you're a lot braver than I once thought."

Zelda said, "I was raised that way. My father taught to never fear anything."

Link grinned and said, "Alright, then come along. You should grab yourself a weapon from one of the guards down below."

Link walked around the current floor, searching for a staircase down. Luckily, there were no other guards in the general vicinity, and they easily found the next staircase down. They walked down it and Link stopped at the entrance. There were no guards, which was unusual. Everything was quiet, far too quiet, in Link's opinion. Something big was going on, and that was what Link was afraid of.

Zelda said, "I think Zihark's marriage is going on. They said it was going to happen soon."

Link's eyes went wide and he said, "Oh no!"

He went tearing down the hallways at full speed, trying to get out of the building. Zelda tried to follow as closely behind as she could, but he was sprinting at a much faster rate than her. Plus, her dress was a nuisance in that end. He leaped out a window and raced towards the castle, not wanting Ruto to be forcefully married to Zihark.

He reached the gates and found a guard right in front of them sleeping. He tore up to the guard, grabbed him, threw him onto the ground and asked, "Where is the marriage taking place?"

The moblin replied in fear, "It is taking place in the throne room! Follow the torch lights!"

Link pulled out his sword and stabbed it, and then ran inside and followed the torch lights. He kept running, up stairs, down empty corridors, all in hopes that he could reach the wedding in time to stop it. His heart began pounding inside his head, his legs became strained, and sweat was already trickling down his face and chest as he ran along the empty halls of the castle.

He finally reached the top and was nearing the throne room when he saw a group of guards escorting the bride out of her room. He leaped forward, sword out and his eyes blazing. His sword slashed twice and both moblins fell. He was now on his knees, sword outward, in front of Ruto.

"Link! Y-Y-You're alive?! How?" she cried out in surprise and delight at the same time.

Link stood up and said, "It's a long story, but we don't have time to tell such stories right now. We need to get out of here!"

He took her by the hand and ran back down the hallways with her, this time not going nearly as fast. They met Zelda coming up along the lower route, and she said, "Link, don't leave me behind like that!"

Link said, "No time, Zelda! We have to go, now! Zihark will soon learn that his bride is gone, and then he'll send people to hunt for us!"

They blew past Zelda, who then turned and followed to the best of her ability. From there, they ran out and Link saw the owl flying overhead. It was nearly nighttime. "Hey!" he called, "Can you get down here!"

The owl glanced down in surprise, and then swooped down and asked, "Which one of you?"

Link said, "Take Zelda back to the resistance force! Me and Ruto will catch up!"

The owl complied, and then as the owl flew off, he heard Ruto say, "I knew you would come for me, my love."

Link smiled and said, "If I'm still alive, then I'm going to keep coming back. I'm stubborn that way."

They raced back to the place where the resistance force was. By the time they reached there, it was nearly midnight, and Ruto was getting exhausted. Link found himself carrying her in through the front doors, and then he set her down and said, "Get some rest. I'll discuss the next plan of action with the elders."

Ruto smiled and said, "Okay, and thanks for the rescue. I thought I was never going to get through that."

She kissed him on the cheek, and then walked back to her room. Link smiled, just watching her leave, and then left to go discuss the next plan of action. Today had been a strange day, and he thought he was going to fight Zihark. But with all of the forces holed up in that one area with guards most likely posted right outside to notify Zihark of any intruders, there had been no way he was going to be able to fight Zihark. _Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to fight him later on..._he thought. He shook his thoughts of the day out of his head as he went into the main council chamber.

_**Wasn't really inspired to make even a short battle between Link and Zihark at this point, though I probably should have. Oh well, next chapter will be pretty interesting, hopefully. It will be coming soon. DarkCloud780. **_


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Plan of action

"And the vote counts fifty to forty-nine. We have a decision," Link heard the elders call. They had been trying to decide what to do for the past hour now. They had been given three decisions, none of which seemed like plausible options to him. They could attack Zihark right then, a bad idea. They could find sages from the different temples, a wise but dangerous idea. Or, they could just leave Hyrule outright. This was marked as a dastardly idea and was not going to be mentioned. Link chuckled to himself when argument arose over that decision. He found it strangely amusing and satisfying, knowing that such a cowardly idea would be instantly argued against. Now, he just waited to see what decision was reached.

They were all inside the meeting room, a grand room inside an old temple that was recently found. The room was completely separated from the rest of the temple, and it was soundproof. Nothing that was said in that room was heard on the outside of the room unless one of the doors was open. It had three chandeliers hanging down in the center of the room with just enough light to light up the whole room. The table at which most of the members sat was huge, with enough space to seat at least seventy people all around it. Link guessed that it had once been used for a king, as the wood was pure, recently waxed, and was extremely well carved and crafted. Never in his whole life had he seen a table like this one.

The head elder said, "We shall find the sages from the other temples and use their aid to destroy Zihark."

At this, there was from most of the council members, including Link. He was personally in for the idea. Link thought, _Now I get to go adventuring again. I'd like to give this new Master Sword a workout._

The elder said, "Link, we're going to be counting on you to do the job."

Link grinned and said, "That's fine by me. When do I go and who do I go with?"

The head elder smiled and said, "We would like it if you could go sometime soon. As for a partner, you may take whomever you choose."

Link didn't even have to think about who he wanted to take. He said, "I'll take Ruto with me."

The head elder seemed surprised and then shook his head saying, "That, I'm afraid, is out of the question."

Link seemed surprised and asked, "Why not? She's been helping me for a long time now."

One of the other council members said, "She is royalty, and must be protected. I do not know why her father allowed her to go into danger with you before, but it will not happen now."

Link turned to that person and said, "I think she has a right to decide as well. Besides, she's a warrior, and she is very responsible. She knows how to look out for herself."

The head elder sighed and said, "Link, it does not matter, and no, she does not have a choice in the matter. She is to stay here. Hence her father's orders..."

Link turned to him sharply and asked, "And where is her father?"

There was silence, as everyone there knew his fate. By the time the answer arose, Link had already guessed what it was and had an answer to this problem. The head elder replied, "He is dead. Zihark killed him as one of his first targets. He commanded us to keep her safe within these walls."

Link asked, "Do you have proof?"

The elders began to converse amongst themselves. Link thought, _This is just great. I'm going to have go alone for every time at this rate, and that's not what I want. I want Ruto to be with me in case something really bad happens, so that she can help me out of it. However, these elders don't really care about that, they only care about how imperative that she is kept safe, even going to extents of lying, most likely. That's okay, but..._

His thoughts were interrupted by the elders saying, "I suppose you have found us at a strange lack. We have no evidence. However, we present you one question, Link."

There was a silence, and Link said, "Go on. I'm listening."

The head elder asked, "Why is it that you wish for her to come with you?"

Link thought for a moment, and then said, "The Zora king willed for us to be fighting partners. We were to go with each other into dangerous areas and help each other out. This has put a sort of a bond between us, and I don't want it broken by such a decision as forcing her to stay here, even thought it is safe."

The elder asked, "In other words, you are saying that even though you know that she would most likely be safe here, you would rather stick to the fact that you are meant to be fighting together rather than vouch for her safety."

Link said, "That, and I actually feel like she would be safer if I knew where she was."

The elder seemed to realize something, and smiled. Link was worried he would reveal something, but then he said, "I see how it is. Very well, Link. You and her may travel together. However, she is to remain safe and in danger of death. Am I clear?"

Link nodded and said, "You can count on me. I will bring her back alive, though I cannot guarantee unharmed."

One of the council members said, "Link, bring her back unharmed. Really, what are you thinking by saying that?"

Link gave that person an irritated look and said, "I'm saying that I cannot guarantee her full safety. With us both fighting, both Ruto and I have a potential chance of getting hurt."

That same person said, "Then just don't go with her at all. Besides, it's going to be easier for you to-"

The elder spoke in a loud voice, "Silence, lad! This is the hero of time you speak to! Let him do what he wants. Besides, I feel that this is best for all of us."

Link smiled and said, "Thanks. I'll try my best to make sure that she isn't harmed, but once again, no guarantees."

Link turned and began leaving when he heard one of the elders call, "Link, wait. You need to know the location of the temple, don't you?"

Link stopped and laughed. He said, "What was I thinking? I was just on pure instinct right then."

He walked back and they laid out a map on the table. It was a detailed map of the entire country of Hyrule, with them being right square in the middle. The head elder said, "Our position gives us a little bit of an advantage in movement. The first temple that you will be going to is the temple of Light, down south."

He pointed to a tall mountain on the bottom of the map, and then said, "This is the mountain where it rests. The height of the mountain is said to be taller than Death Mountain, though most argue that it only seems like that because of the temple itself. There is a village right below the mountain that sells climbing gear at a relatively high price. You should make sure to get gear before you attempt to climb this mountain."

Link asked, "How much is it, and can you supply me with the money?"

The head elder said, "A deluxe pack, which is the one that I would suggest for both you and Ruto, is about two hundred rupees. To buy both, we will give you a giant's wallet that can hold up to five hundred rupees. It is full, so use the leftover one hundred to buy other, less necessary supplies such as, perhaps, warmer clothing. It isn't going to be warm up there, unlike with Death Mountain."

Link nodded and said, "Alright. So, now that I know where to go, once you supply me with the rupees and some proper transportation, I will be on my way."

The head elder said, "Name the horses and we'll find them."

Link said, "Epona, and Tica. Epona is my horse and Tica is the horse that Ruto first really learned how to ride a horse on."

The head elder smiled and said, "Right away, hero."

Link walked off and right before he exited, he heard one of the elders call, "Company, dismissed."

Link walked out the door and found Ruto right outside. She asked, "What was the decision?"

Link looked around to make sure that no one else was around, and then whispered, "We're leaving for the Light Temple. Get your stuff ready."

Ruto seemed surprised and asked, "Are we both really going?"

Link nodded and said, "Yes, we are."

Ruto smiled and said, "I knew you would convince them, Link."

Link hugged her and said, "I would never leave you. Not if I had a choice."

Link then left the embrace and walked off to the stables. He knew that keeping her alive as well as himself was going to be a challenge later on, but it was a responsibility he was willing to take. He knew that the morale of the zoras relied heavily upon her survival, and that the morale of just about everyone else relied upon his survival. However, that didn't scare him. In fact, he even said to himself, "Things are just going to get a little more interesting."

_**I like how this is going so far. Link, by the way, is getting more confident by the day as the Triforce grows in strength within him. The reason for it growing stronger will be revealed in time to come. If you could be so kind as to review, as usual, and next dungeon will be coming tomorrow. Hasta luego, amigos! DarkCloud780  
**_


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Ninteen: Hardships before the temple

"What do you mean there's on climbing gear on sale?!" Link demanded angrily. He could see the climbing gear on the shelves and was angry that it wasn't for sale.

The gruff man on the other side of the counter replied, "Listen, kid. What I say goes, and even if this is the only shop in all of Hyrule that sells climbing gear, I ain't going to change my mind. This stuff has already been reserved and is not for sale!"

Link asked, "Reserved for who?!"

The man replied, "Wouldn't you like to know?! Get out of my store before I punch your lights out!"

Link saw that it was no use arguing with this man and just turned around and left. So far, he had had no luck whatsoever finding any climbing gear in this town, even though all of the shops were supposed to have climbing gear. This merchant, however, had bought all of the gear and now claimed that he had it reserved for someone, though he refused to specify who. Link was just ready to give up now.

"What happened, Link?" Ruto asked. She had been all around the town as well, and all of the merchants had said the same thing that Link had just now encountered.

Link replied, "He refused to give me the climbing equipment. I even tried to give him all the five hundred rupees and he still refused, saying that he already had them reserved."

Ruto asked, "By who? Did he say?"

Link shook his head. He was just about ready to storm back in there and take the gear by force. He was thinking that this man was simply trying to ruin this town's reputation so that way no one would come to this town. If he were telling the truth, he was being very rude about it and Link did not know why he was so angry before when Link calmly asked him about the climbing gear. Link didn't have a single hint of anger in his voice when he first asked and the guy burst out into anger like he had been yelled at in anger.

Link noticed that it began getting dark, and he wondered why. The sun was in the middle of the sky and there were no thunder clouds around. Link up and noticed that the sun seemed to be going out slowly, losing its light at a pretty rapid rate. Link was wondering what was going on, and then remembered that the light temple was on the mountain above them.

"The light temple! Zihark must be sending one of his dark minions to diminish the light inside!" he yelled.

He looked up and saw that the temple far above them was no longer projecting any light from it or anything. It too, was going dark, and most likely because of what Link guessed. There must have been a minion of Zihark's inside of it destroying it from the inside. Link now had an excuse to get the climbing gear and if the man refused him still, then he was going to have to get rough.

He walked back into the shop and the man asked, "Why are you still here?!"

Link said, "The temple of light is in danger, and if you don't give us your climbing gear, we won't be able to save it."

For a moment, there was silence between them. Then, the gruff man began laughing and said, "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard of in a long time! The temple of light being danger. Ha! That's a joke!"

Link said, "If you don't think I'm serious, look out the window."

The man did, and then said, "So, it is just becoming nighttime."

Link asked, "At midday?"

The man seemed confused, and then looked at a specially made watch he had on his wrist. He said, "Yeah, it is midday. So, you're thinking that the light temple is in danger, eh?"

Link nodded and said, "Me and another person are going to go up and see what is wrong. Or we were going to, but since the climbing gear is not for sale, then we'll just be going, then. Hope you have a nice time in the dark."

The man gave Link a strange look as he began leaving, and then said, "Hey, wait...you wouldn't happen to be the hero of time, would you?"

Link stopped and said, "Yes, I am."

The man slapped his palm to his head and asked, "Why didn't you say so before?! I was saving all that up for you and your girlfriend!"

Link seemed surprised and said, "Well you could have told me that!"

The man said, "Sorry about that, I was just thinking you were another one of those merchants being picky about me buying out their gear. Here, go ahead and take the stuff. I'll even give them to you for free, if you'd like."

Link said, "Why not? We'll take them for free, and I'll pay you back later?"

The man shook his head and said, "Nope. They're free all the way through."

Link sighed in relief and said, "Thanks for holding onto the stuff for us, but at least you could have told all of the other people about it. If you did, people wouldn't be so mad at you for withholding all of it."

After an initial trade of supplies, Link came out with all of the supplies and both he and Ruto began their ascent up the mountain. The beginning wasn't all that bad. It was just a rather steep slope up the mountain that they could walk. However, as time went on, by the time they had to resort to their climbing gear, it was almost too dark to see anything. They couldn't light a lantern at all up where they were, so it turned into a dangerous task of feeling for the proper hand holds and foot holds, most of which weren't really good at all. More than once, both Ruto and Link came very close to falling, and Link knew that by now it was nearly a one thousand foot drop to the ground.

After a long climb, Link finally felt that they were nearing the top. The stone began to level out, and Link was relieved. At the same time, he was horrified by the fact that the could not see anything above him. There could be an enemy above him and he wouldn't know it. He said, "Ruto, we're near the top."

No reply. Link's heart skipped a beat when that happened and he called, "Ruto? Are you there?"

Again, no reply. His voice began to get a little hysterical and he called, "Ruto?! Where are you?"

Still no reply. His heart began racing and he called down in his loudest voice, "Ruto!!"

He heard it echo far down, and then he thought, _Damn it! Not now, love..._

He began to climb down and felt his foot hit something. Ruto had passed out against the mountainside, and Link nearly jarred her loose. He stopped, his heart still racing, and he gently climbed down beside her. He found that she was still barely clinging to one of the picks that they had been using to make hand holds or footholds. He grabbed her and pressed her body against one side of his, and then began climbing up to the top with one hand and both legs. He found this to be much harder, and was about to give up until he felt the ground beginning to level out again.

As he pushed onward, the his hands stretching outward across the wet, slippery rock, he felt his face beginning to get pushed into snow at the top. He kept kicking, hoping that he would be able to reach the top before he passed out and just slipped off the top of the mountain to his death. He suddenly felt his legs slip, and he about did slide off the mountain. He grabbed one of the picks that he had put there and held on. His grip on Ruto was loosening, and his heart was racing again. Adrenaline was kicking in, but not helping him in the lightest.

He felt his own grip slipping now, his face was now sweating coldly. He bit his lips hard and kept tugging, hoping that he could pull both himself and Ruto up onto the mountaintop before his grip on her loosened. Suddenly, a horrible choice came to mind. There he was, sitting on the top of the mountain, with a somehow unconscious Ruto in his arms. If he let go of her, he would be able to climb upward, save his life, and save the temple, even though he would lose his love, and the trust of the council. Or, he could hang on to her and risk losing his life by having his hand slip off of the pick.

He thought, _Why does it have to be now? Ruto...please wake up...please..._

He continued pulling, and then slipped again. He yelled out in fear as he began to fall, but then felt that his hand landed on another pick on the way down. His scream awakened the knocked out Ruto, who looked around and then was instantly aware of what was going on. Link quickly said, "Ruto, don't scream or anything. Are you awake?"

Ruto nodded at him, and he could barely see her eyes. They were filled with fear, and she was on the verge of screaming from what it looked like. Link said, "Ruto, push yourself off of me up towards the top. Use me as something to stand on as you reach for the pick above us."

Ruto carefully complied, and Link focused all of his effort to holding onto the pick directly above him. His arms were aching, and as Ruto stepped onto him to help herself get on top, the pain he felt was merciless to him in the sudden cold that overtook him. When she was finally on top, he looked up and barely saw her armored hand reaching down to help him. He took it, and then used all of his effort to push himself up on top. He felt his feet beginning to slip every time he put them on the now icy rock, but he kept going. Finally, he reached the top and practically collapsed into the snow.

For moments, they just sat there, and Link said, "This...was the most trying time I've had...since that big octorok."

Ruto said, "You did it, Link. You saved us both."

Link stood up and helped her up, saying, "We need to get into the temple before we freeze to death out here."

They stood up and walked into the temple, and were relieved to find that it was much warmer inside than on the outside. Link was now so tired that he collapsed into one of the corners and just fell asleep. Ruto sat next to him, but felt herself nodding off too. Before she closed her eyes, she leaned her head against his and said, "I love you..so much..."

She dozed off, her head resting against Link's head. Tomorrow, they would wake up, ready to face the dangers that lay in the light temple.

_**If any of you are confused why the snow seemed to actually appear, it wasn't the mountaintop. It was the fact that sun was losing almost all of its power because the light temple was being taken over. All of it will resolve almost instantly when they take out the creature that's ruining the light. Well, please review and hope you like the next chapter. I will introduce Sheik next, so see ya then!**_


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: The temple of light

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda or anything affiliated with it.**_

Link awoke finally, and found himself sitting in one of the corners of a dim room with Ruto right next to him, still sleeping. He gently moved her aside and stood up, looking around. By now, the chilling cold had gotten into the temple and Link was shivering. He could see a white cloud every time he breathed out, and was hoping that it didn't get too cold. He then noticed a pack of furs on the ground, marked for him and Ruto. He walked over and picked up this strange leather bag and then pulled the furs out. They were both white, made from arctic wolvos, he supposed. They were a commonly hunted monster for their high quality pelts and warm fur.

He turned around and shook Ruto awoke saying, "Wake up, Ruto. We have to find a way to restore the light and heat before we die in here."

Ruto sat up and rubbed her head, saying, "I'm cold."

Link put one of the fur coats next to her and said, "Put that on. Whoever left it here was nice to give it to us. We'll have to thank him later."

She quickly put it on over her armor and said, "This is so nice! It's soft and cozy."

Link put his on and felt the same thing. He wondered, _Who else would be up here on the mountain that would help us? It just seems...unlikely._

"I hope you plan to get moving soon," they heard someone say.

Link wheeled around, his sword drawn, ready to fight this new opponent. To his surprise, it was a tall man, about as tall as he was, wearing a tight black suit. The only part that Link could see was the left eye, partially because of the mask, but also because the man let his dark blond hair flow down over his other eye. He had nothing in his hand, or so it seemed from where Link was standing.

Link asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "I am Sheik, one of the only remaining Sheikah. Most of the others were killed trying to defend the king. I wasn't there, so I survived, and now my mission is to help you free the temples from the Zihark's dark powers."

Link wasn't sure that he could trust Sheik, but asked, "Did you give us these coats?"

Sheik replied, "Yes, I did. I saw you shivering up her next to her, and decided to have compassion. I got them from an old friend a long ways away from here, who is an expert hunter."

Link asked, "How did you get them up the mountain?"

Sheik didn't even have to think about his reply. He said, "I have my resources."

Link knew that he must be one of the Sheikah then. He had read that they were almost always mysterious around people they didn't know, and never let their strange techniques be known. He still didn't know if he could really trust him, but he was willing to work with him for the moment being. He said, "Alright, then let's go. We have a temple to free."

Sheik said, "Right you are."

Link turned around and quickly looked at the room they were in. It was too dark to see anything too far ahead, but he could see some light from underneath a door at the end of the hallway. He guessed, "That's the way we need to go. Let's hope that there aren't any monsters past that door."

Link began walking towards the door when he heard Sheik say, "A word of caution, Link. In this dungeon, not every opponent can be killed by normal means. Not even the Master Sword would be capable of defeating them."

Link asked, "What do you mean?"

Sheik replied, "These creatures are sensitive to the light. If struck by it, they will turn into a solid form. Otherwise, they cannot even be harmed."

Link drew his sword and said, "Thanks for the advice. I hope that there are some forms of light in this temple."

Sheik said, "There are plenty, this temple still retains its power, but none of it is radiating out into Hyrule, hence the cold and darkness."

Link walked up to the door at the far end, his mind already trying to figure out in his mind what could possibly be beyond the door. He quietly walked up and pushed it open. The first real light flooded into the room, nearly blinding Link and the others. It was still cold, but that didn't matte right now. Looking into the newly opened room, he saw a long hallway that was so brightly lit that he could barely see. There probably wouldn't be any monsters there, so he walked in, shortly followed by Ruto and Sheik.

They did not encounter any trouble as they approached the door to the next room. Link kept glancing behind him to make sure that the others were still behind him. He pushed open the door to the next room and found that it was nearly pitch black inside with one light shining in from the roof. It was hitting a mirror in the center of the room that was projecting it to the left side of the room. Link looked around and did not immediately see any monster, which was a good thing.

He said, "We should see if there are other mirrors in this room. We have to light if back up, I'm assuming."

Sheik said, "Your assumption would be correct. I've studied about all of the different temples in Hyrule, and this one intrigued me the most. These kinds of rooms here are set up to conduct solar energy into the rest of the temple, but at night they project their own light. The mirrors must have been misplaced and so the light is not really going anywhere. The mirror in the center of the room cannot be moved, so we have to find the other mirrors that project it back to the center mirror."

Link asked, "How does that work, though? If it just moves back to the center mirror, then it's basically not going anywhere, right?"

Sheik replied, "That is what I thought, too. But it turns out that the center mirror conducts the energy from the light into crystals in the bottom of the temple that shoot the light to the rest of the temple, lighting it up. That is the only way we will be able to proceed from my knowledge."

Link sighed and asked, "Why does it seem that the temples always have to be so complicated?"

He walked in and and looked where the center mirror was facing. It was lighting up a mirror that was currently turned wrong. Link ran up and adjusted it to where it was facing into the light. He decided that he should not turn the mirror in any direction, or else he should risk ruining the puzzle he was performing. He moved it into the light and found that is shone onto another set of mirrors that instantly sped all the way around the room until one hit missing mirror at one end that should have reflected the light back into the central mirror.

Now that Link could see the room, he noticed that it was perfectly round and level. The mirror that was missing wasn't supposed to be there at all. Link asked, "Ruto, can you move the mirror that projecting the light to nothing to where it is projecting the light into the center mirror?"

Ruto replied, "Sure thing."

She ran over and moved the mirror to where the light was shining into the central mirror. Suddenly, the whole room lit up brightly, and Link saw one part of the wall on the right side of the room open up to reveal a dimly lit passage leading further into the temple. He said, "Alright, that's our way forward. Let's go."

He ran in, and then Sheik called, "Link, I should warn you that there might be some of those creatures I mentioned in that passageway."

Link sighed and asked, "Is anything ever easy anymore?"

He walked up the entrance and peered in, hoping to see something inside. He saw nothing, however, and wondered what might be inside. Then, he saw several shadowy shapes moving towards him, and he easily recognized that they were transparent poes. There were three of them, and they were moving towards him with unlit lanterns, hoping to surprise him. However, Link had already foiled them, because he was watching them with his eyes as they approached him.

He unsheathed his sword and said, "Alright, doesn't seem like there is anything in here."

Then, they appeared, a little too late. Link saw them appearing and charged them. They were fully visible and Link cut the first two in half, causing them to dissipate. Link then stabbed the third, causing it to disappear with a shudder. He said, "Cool. I guess we now have a new opponent to watch out for. Invisible, or transparent, poes."

Ruto asked, "How did you see them in this hallway?"

Link said, "I technically did not. I saw them moving, though, and that's how I spotted them. Then, as they got closer, I recognized our old friends by the way they floated through the air."

Sheik said, "We'd best be on our guard. If those poes are that hard to see, then they will easily be able to ambush us. We need to stay focused."

They walked into the hallway and then found themselves in a large room with four branching paths that were lit with different colors. One was yellow, one blue, one red, and one white. Link asked, "Which way first?"

Sheik said, "That's for you to decide. I don't know the layout of this temple."

Ruto suggested, "Why don't we try the white path and see where that takes us?"

Link shrugged and said, "It's worth a try."

They began walking down it, being on constant lookout for the invisible poes. There did not seem to be any along this path however, and they were glad for that. However, Link was uneasy about something, and that something was that Zihark himself might be present. He was already feeling tense because of that possibility, but now it was starting to become real in his mind. He kept envisioning Zihark beyond the next series of doors, waiting in anticipation for the heroes to arrive and face him.

He walked up to the next door and found that it was unlocked. Fortune was with them so far. Suddenly, Sheik said, "Link, there are four other chambers like the one we were just in. Each one is probably missing it's light power. As we restore power to the temple, danger will be less prominent as we go along, as the light fearing creatures will shrink away from the temple."

Link muttered, "I hope you're right."

He opened the door and when he looked inside, he a straight path ahead of him. He looked in and noticed that it was so dark this time that he really could not see anything. Sheik said, "Maybe this was not the best choice."

Link said, "I don't care. We've got to get the light back through all of the temple. We can't just take another path right now, otherwise we might be at risk of those paths being about as dangerous, if not even more so. Let's just stick with this one."

Ruto said, "I can't see a thing in here."

Link heard her comment, and then muttered, "I wish I had a lantern right now..."

He walked in, sword drawn and his eyes alert for even the slightest sign of movement. He was hoping that there wouldn't be anything around, but he knew that there was going to be something moving around there. They did not encounter anything as they walked in a tight group towards the door, and then Link opened it. Beyond, there was another mirror chamber. This one, however, had fixed mirrors all over the place that needed to be rotated back into the right positions.

He walked in and walked over to the first mirror that the central mirror was projecting light towards. It was to the right of the entrance, and facing the exact opposite direction from the light. He turned it to where it was projecting towards another mirror a ways away. Link then said, "Sheik, keep a lookout. I don't want anything sneaking up on us while we're working. Ruto, cover the left side of the room.

He ran to the mirror that had the light hitting it, and found that it was simply facing the wrong direction again. He rotated it until it was shooting towards another mirror in front of the mirror that projected it up onto the roof. It hit another mirror that was on the top of the roof, which projected it to a mirror down on the ground. Suddenly, Sheik called, "Link, you might want to hurry up. We've got shadow creatures coming."

Link looked and saw several small blobs made out of pure shadow slowly sliding towards them. He assumed in his mind that these were ones that only the light could make vulnerable. He called, "Ruto, move the light shining onto your mirror to where it is hitting those creatures!"

She did so, but the light didn't quite reach. Link saw that it was hitting the back of another mirror, and thought, _Dang it! I have to figure out how to move that so that the light can get through. Or do I?_

He called, "Sheik! Can you get them to come into the path of the light by this mirror?"

Sheik turned, and when he saw what Link was planning, he said, "I'll try, Link. Hang on."

He ran around the obstacle, and the blobs followed him. They came right into the path of the light and suddenly became solid seeming. They didn't stop moving, but Link didn't mind that right now. He ran up and slashed one in two. Then, when another one leaped at him, he spun around and cut it in two just like its companion. Sheik threw a series of darts into the last one and it fell.

Link commented, "I have a feeling that there a lot more where those blobs came from. We'd best be on our guard."

They continued arranging the mirrors until they shone the light back to the central one. Suddenly, the whole room seemed to get more brightly lit. Ruto said, "Hey! I can see now. That's a good thing, I suppose."

Link looked around to see if another side passage had opened, and there was one that was open. However, looking back towards the other entrance, he saw that the way they had came in was now sealed off by a large black substance. He sighed and thought, _It always has to be something, doesn't it?_

Ruto asked, "Which way now?" She obviously had not noticed the fact that the other entrance had been suddenly sealed off.

He replied, "The only way we can go. Forward."

He walked towards the now opened room and when he glanced inside. There wasn't much too it. There were no other mirrors, and it was wide open. Then, he looked down. There was no pathway. He about stepped out into nothing because he had kept moving into the room. Ruto managed to catch him and pulled him back onto the landing.

Sheik said, "That's new. I never knew that this temple had no flooring in some areas."

Link was still recovering from the initial shock of almost falling down into the dark depths below. When he finally did recover, he said, "I really don't know. Why would they design it this way, though? Surely there has to be a floor."

Sheik began looking around, and then seeing that there did not seem to be any way onward besides over the dark depths, concluded, "I think we are trapped here. The darkness has led us into a place that we cannot leave."

Link, however, wasn't so sure. He was feeling the air around the platform that they were on. Suddenly, he hit invisible stone, and grinned. He said, "I think your conclusion is wrong."

He stepped onto it and began carefully feeling the ground ahead with his foot. He began easing his way onto it, when suddenly a whole patch of it appeared right underneath him. It led forward, and then turned sharply to the left. Link concluded, "There is a way to cross this bottomless pit. Let's go."

They began carefully walking across the stone bridge that led in many turns and twists. It was cleverly designed to confuse intruders that would dare come into this temple to attempt to steal from it or mess around with anything inside. As they went along, it was like a maze, that had dead ends at some points, sudden drops where there would normally not be any drops, and collapsing platforms at some of the dead ends. It was designed to frighten thieves and keep them from entering the temple further. Link and his friends were not thieves, though. They were sent to defend the temple from the creatures of darkness that had invaded it. Link still found it ironic that they were having to solve puzzles that were meant to stop evil intruders, not slow defenders.

"Link, are you sure that you know where we are going?" Sheik asked.

Ruto replied, "I don't think he really cares. He just goes with the flow, and changes tactics depending on what comes and stands in his way forward."

Link grinned and said, "And you would be right, Ruto. That is exactly what I do."

Sheik sighed and said, "So you don't really have a clue about what you are doing. Great, that means we'll probably never make it out of this temple.

Link replied, "You underestimate my power of judgment. We'll make it."

They reached the end of the room finally, where there were three doors, two were unlocked, and the third was. Link thought, _I think I know which door we need to go through. Now, where is the key?_

He turned to one of the doors and said, "Something tells me to go in this way."

He opened the door and found a small round room with a small chest in the middle. Link stopped, and then looked up in the roofs. The roof was clearly visible, and there was nothing on it. It was just a pure white. Link walked towards the chest, keeping a constant lookout for anything out of the ordinary. He opened the chest and found nothing inside. He sighed and said, "Of course. Dead end, as usual."

He turned around and then noticed that Sheik and Ruto were not there. His eyes went wide with sudden fear and surprise and he rushed out. He called, "Ruto? Sheik?! Where are you?!"

He looked around, frantically, and then his eyes turned towards the only door that was not open. He gritted his teeth and dashed towards it. He pushed it open as fast as he could and stopped inside. Here was a room made entirely out of mirrors, and it was complex, that Link would find it probably impossible to make his way around inside it. He dashed forward until he came into contact with himself, and then turned. There he was, then he glanced down another one and he seemed to be further away. He ran to it, and repeated this process for a while.

Suddenly, he heard a voice say, "I hope you are content to be alone forever, old friend."

"Zihark!" he called.

"Yes, I am. I'm glad your remembered my name. Link, I have something to tell you. You and her don't deserve to be together. Me and her, on the other hand, do. We are both royalty," he continued.

Link gritted his teeth angrily and yelled in his loudest voice, "Let her go!!"

He was surprised when his voice echoed loudly throughout this maze of mirrors. Now, he realized that he seemed lost. There were too many paths that he could possibly take, and none of them led to his goal. The entrance seemed to have vanished, and only Zihark's voice was present. He said, "I hope you like to rot here, Link. You will be stuck here forever."

Then he laughed, with a malice that hurt Link. His thoughts began racing in his mind, _Why, Zihark?! Why did you betray me?! Why did you take her again? Why...why everything?! Maybe he's right! Maybe I don't deserve to...no! I do deserve to be with her...why am I..._

He burst out in a yell of anger suddenly. It was so loud that he was sure that every living thing in the temple could hear it. Then, he just pulled out his sword and swung it so hard at one of the mirrors that it shattered inwards. He collapsed in despair, and then was aware that all of the other mirrors were breaking. He looked up in surprise, and then all of the mirrors around him shattered, revealing two bound and gagged forms. One was Ruto and the other was Sheik.

The voice was coming from a monster right next to him, which he stabbed and said, "I hope you die a slow and painful death for this, Zihark!"

He sighed in relief and, running up to them, he quickly untied them. Ruto said, "That monster that grabbed us! It wasn't the one that you stabbed it. It was huge! Bigger than this room."

Sheik said, "Yes, it was. However, it was made entirely out of shadow and easily fit into this room. It had the smaller monster tie us both up and create the mirror maze that we knew that you could never figure out. I'm glad you ended up shattering it. We never would have been freed had you not, I'm sure."

Link said, "Don't tell me..."

His voice trailed off as he stared at a metal shield. It was made out of something that wasn't normal metal. It was shinier, with a red outline on the edge and the middle being purely white. It was faintly reflecting a bit of the light in the room, and when Link picked it up, he noticed that it was extremely light weight. There was a strange design that he could not find the words to describe on the front of it.

Link guessed, "A mirror shield. Cool."

Sheik asked, "Link, was there a key in that chest ?"

Link shook his head and said, "Nope. In fact, there wasn't anything in there when I checked."

Ruto sighed and said, "There goes our luck. I suppose we'll never get out of here now."

Link was about to say the same, when an idea struck him. He said, "No...that's not quite true."

He looked at the mirror shield and thought, _If I can aim a beam of light down to the darkness, then I can get rid of it. Then we can go onward. I'm still confused about that door, though._

He said, "Let's go back. I have an idea of how to get past that darkness."

He began walking back and then noticed that the door that was locked was gone. He said, "An illusion to trick us. It worked surprisingly well, too. Let's get heading back."

They ran back to the room with the mirror, and then Link temporarily stood in the way of one of the light beams. He put his shield and watched as the light bounced off of it onto a wall nearby. He then carefully moved to where the darkness was blocking the door. Suddenly, it vanished like a shadow being exposed to a very bright light. Link moved the beam of light away to make sure that it didn't come back, and seemed satisfied when they didn't.

"There we go. Now we can get back to where we came from," he said triumphantly.

Sheik sighed and said, "Whatever. I could have thought that too."

Ruto said, "Aw...are you a little envious?"

Link began walking towards the door, and then sighed and said, "How big is this temple? I hope it isn't like that last temple I was in..."

Ruto said, "That nightmare? I don't think that this temple was designed like that."

Sheik said, "This temple is pretty big. It has multiple floors."

Link said, "That's better than it being an endless maze of pipes."

He walked out the door and headed back across the light bridge. Then, he said, "Well, now we just take another random path. Let's go."

He headed down the blue path now, ever on the lookout for anything. This time, they came to a staircase. Link said, "Alright, now we're heading up a level."

Sheik sighed and asked, "Do you really have to play Captain Duh?"

Link stopped, his foot on the first step of the staircase. Link turned around and said, "Please don't call me something like that."

He began ascending the staircase, hoping that he wouldn't actually encounter Zihark. After that last encounter, he was already tense enough. They reached the top and he pushed open the door into the next room. What he saw inside surprised him. There was a huge sun-shaped statue in the middle of a vast room. Link stepped out, still gawking, and then he noticed his planet, or a shape of it, flying alongside the sun. He didn't know what the ball was, but didn't pay it any mind.

Sheik said, "This must be the observatory. That means there isn't really anything to do here. At least, I don't think there is."

Link said, "A dead end. This temple is starting to baffle me."

He turned around and headed back down the stairs. He stopped, and then said, "I think we've got company, and our company is of the bad sort."

He pulled out his sword and shield and when the others came down, they saw three Stalfos walking across the bridge towards them. Ruto asked, "What are those?"

Sheik replied, "Those are Stalfos. The only way that I can think of killing them is pushing them off the bridge. But do not underestimate them. They are very skilled and strong warriors."

Link had an idea and pulled out a bomb. After quickly lighting it and waiting for them to get about into the middle of the bridge, he called, "Eat this, suckers!" He threw the bomb at them, and they began running towards them to avoid the bomb.

Link had that planned, though, and he ran with Ruto and Sheik straight towards the Stalfos. The one he was heading towards stopped dead, and Link tackled it to the ground. He rolled off of it and then stabbed right at its spine. It rolled aside and brought its blade up at his chest, hoping the pierce his heart. He leaned aside and then kicked it in the face, knocking it towards the edge. Then, when it leaped up, he kicked it right in ribcage, knocking it off the bridge. He walked over to the edge and watched it as it fell down into the bottomless depths below. He heard a crash, proving that it wasn't bottomless, but seemed that way. Then, he turned to help Ruto.

Ruto, in the meantime, had stabbed the Stalfos in the ribcage, causing her sword to slide through and hit the spinal column. It fell back, and Ruto tried to kick it off of the bridge. It dropped onto the ground and then grabbed her foot and tripped her. It raised its sword up and brought it down in a stab. She rolled closer to it to avoid being stabbed and then she kicked upward into the air and brought herself back onto her feet. She dragged up with her, and then when it collapsed onto the ground again, she stabbed towards its head. It rolled aside and suddenly thrust its sword at her. She managed to twist herself out of the way, but in the process, nearly fell of the bridge. As she poised there, waiting for something to happen, a sword flew into its head. It was the Master Sword.

Sheik did not have any problems. He let the Stalfos charge him, and then kicked it when it was swinging down at him. He kicked its hand back up and then leaped up and kicked it in the face, knocking it over onto the ground. He leaped upon it, a small knife in his hand. He stabbed it in between the eyes, and then he lifted it up with his knife and kicked it off the edge of the bridge. He turned around to help Ruto, because he saw that she was having trouble, and then found that the Stalfos that was looming over her had collapsed, the Master Sword in its head.

Link had thrown his sword when he saw the Stalfos about to kill her. He muttered, "No one's going to steal my love from me like that."

He walked over, pulled out the Master Sword, and then kicked the bones off the edge before it could reform. He helped Ruto up and asked, "Are you okay?"

Ruto smiled and said, "I think so."

Link turned to Sheik and said, "That was definitely a short match. Well, let's get going down one of the other paths. We still have two more to take."

They walked back to to crossroads and now took the yellow path, hoping that it would lead them somewhere that didn't include an observatory. It led them to a staircase downward. They went down it, keeping alert for any signs of danger now that they knew that there were Stalfos about. They reached the bottom and found themselves underneath the huge sun. There was a huge set of mirrors down below it, with another central mirror. There were was an opening with a fairly strong ray of light shining through way at the opposite end, but there wasn't enough light to have it bounce off of the grand mirror in the center. There was a bridge leading up to the mirror, and it was colored a pure white.

"Let's head back. I think we need to come back here after we find the third room of mirrors," Link said.

They headed back up the staircase and then took the final path, the red one. It led them to another door, and when they stepped through, they saw another room with mirrors. This time, though, there wasn't any light shining off of the roof down to the central mirror. It was almost pitch black. Link stepped forward and then noticed a strangely outlined path. He poked his sword off the edge of the outline carefully and felt nothing there.

He warned, "Be cautious. Follow the outline and don't step off of it. There is nothing down below here."

He began walking across the outlined path, following it around the room. All of the mirrors were covered in the shadowy substance that the door had been when they took the white path. Link wondered, _How in the world are we going to get the light flowing into this room?_

Sheik called, "Link! There's a door over here that seems open. Why don't you take it and see if you can get the light back on in here."

Link looked over and when he saw the door said, "Alright, I'll be right over there. Stay here and call if the light activates."

He opened the door and ran in. There was a staircase leading upward, and he ran up it. It was still only vaguely outlined, and he was careful not to step off of it. He reached the top and noticed a light coming from one of two doors. However, the one with the light coming from it was locked. He shrugged and went through the open door, hoping that this was not another trap set up by Zihark.

He walked into a dimly lit room, and saw a dark figure standing across the room from him, holding a key. The figure turned to him and said, "Long time, no see. I thought I was going to die after our last encounter."

Link shuddered when he heard the voice and exclaimed, "Shadow Link!"

The room lit up a little more to allow Link to more clearly see his nemesis. There he was, Shadow Link, holding his dark blade which now more resembled the Master Sword and had a strange red glow around it. He said, "Now we end this. No gear, no shield, and no cheap moves. Just you..."

He paused when he said that, and then Link's shield and gear vanished. Then he finished, "...and me. One-on-one."

Link held up his sword and said, "You're on."

Shadow Link said, "I wonder how your friends are faring below, with the monster that has taken over the temple fighting them."

Link shuddered, and then yelled, "You led us into a trap!"

Shadow Link seemed to smile and said, "Yes, I did. It was so easy the first time, that I figured I would do it again. You and your friends won't live through this one, Link."

He charged, bringing the blade up into the air to bring down upon Link. Link stepped aside and smoothly stabbed Shadow Link's arm, causing him to stumble away from Link, holding the arm in pain. He asked, "Where did you find that blade?"

Link replied, "I technically did not. I had the help of a skull kid in finding it."

Shadow Link seemed surprised, and said, "I thought the motto was never trust a skull kid."

Link grinned and said, "Well, guess what. It is. He left me alone in the forest after showing me to the blade. He also set up traps for me on my way out."

Shadow Link suddenly dashed forward and swung at Link's legs. Link jumped above it, and then brought his blade down at Shadow Link's head. Shadow Link rolled aside and brought his blade around in a crescent shape. Link stepped back and saw the blade barely miss him. He then swung and spun himself around in a spin attack. Shadow Link performed a back flip and landed facing Link again.

"Curse you, Link. When did you become this good?" he asked.

Link shrugged and said, "I don't know. I think I've always been this good, and just never realized it."

Link heard a scream from below, and winced. It was a scream of pain from Ruto. He yelled, "Alright! I'm going to finish this!"

He spied his gear out of the corner of his eye, and when Shadow Link leaped at him to perform a sudden stab at his heart, Link leaped towards his bow and arrows. He grabbed his bow, got an arrow into it, and then shot it straight at the defenseless Shadow Link. It hit him, stunning him for a brief moment. Then, Link threw his sword right into Shadow Link's chest.

Shadow Link uttered a cry of agony as the sword hit him, and yelled, "It burns!! This sword, curse it! Curse you! Curse you all!!"

He vanished, and the key and the Master Sword were all that was left. Link ran forward, grabbed both, and ran out. Sweat was beginning to trickle down his face again from the tension that was heightening as he went. He quickly unlocked the other door, dashed inside, and saw the crystal that was giving off the light. It was being obscured by a dark object. Link desperately cut the object, and then was nearly blinded by the light that suddenly shot out. He managed to turn away and began running back down.

_I hope I made it in time..._he thought.

He reached the bottom and found that that the huge dark creature that had grabbed Sheik and Ruto before was now shriveling into nothing as the light struck it. It finally vanished, and Ruto dropped from where one of its hands had been. She seemed heavily injured, and Link breathed in sharply through his teeth when it seemed like one of her legs had been disfigured.

He ran forward and picked her up. He said, "Ruto! Are you alright?!"

She opened her eyes, and when she saw him, she managed to utter, "Link? Is that...you?"

The wounds began to vanish suddenly. Link watched them vanish, and then said, "It was only an illusion!"

She suddenly seemed to be breathing a lot easier now. Sheik said, "Link! I think we've done it! With this final room activated, the temple of light should be back to full power now! We've purged it of evil!"

Link smiled and said, "Well, that was different. I hope something like this doesn't happen again."

He helped Ruto stand up and she kissed him on the lips. After holding it there for a few seconds, she slowly pulled away and whispered, "Thank you, my love."

Link smiled warmly, and then said, "We should be heading back now. Our mission here is done."

_**Finally! After nearly a week of delay, I've finally finished this dang chapter! I hope you like it. As always, please review on how you thought this was. Sorry if the Shadow Link battle was too short, but I wanted to finish this chapter really bad.**_


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-one: Sudden change in plans

"Look, I don't know what's causing the sun to go out either! What, are you planning to send me up into space?!" Link asked impatiently. He was freezing cold, despite the warming clothes that he had, and he was sure that Ruto was too. It had been several days now that the light temple had been restored, but the dark and wintry spell remained over the kingdom of Hyrule. The elders began to conclude that the sun itself was losing energy to something dark and evil inside of it, and they were desperately trying to find a plan of action as to what to do.

One of the elders said, "Link, we apologize for asking this of you, but we need you to challenge Zihark directly with whatever power you have right now. We cannot exactly send you out into space, for we have nothing to do that with."

Link gave them a bewildered look and asked, "You want me to challenge the lord of evil?! In the state I'm in right now?!"

The head elder replied, "Yes. This is the only way we can think of that will save us in enough time to keep us from freezing to death."

Link said, "We can just go into Death Mountain. The heat will still be there for a few precious days."

The elder asked, "Yes, but how much time will that give us to wait for you to destroy this king of evil?"

Link shrugged and said, "I don't know. Any amount of time is worth it, however."

Sheik, who had came back with him, said, "Look, we have to do something about this cold and darkness before people die because of it. Have you seen Ruto? She's-"

Link yelled, "I know!"

He was already frantic enough, though he did not show it. He was very desperately wanting an answer for this problem, and a whole slew of possible scenarios was already running through his head. Yes, he could fight Zihark, but if he died, what then? He could keep on trying to find the sages and preparing himself to fight Zihark, a noble task, but time consuming, and time wasn't something they had a lot of. Or, he could find a near impossible way to get up to sun and free it from the darkness. But then, as it started to heat back up, would he be able to escape it? There was always an unanswerable question for every idea that he came up with.

He ran his hand through his hair, and then said, "There might be a way to get up to the sun and free it from the darkness. I just would have to find it."

Sheik yelled, "Link! You are a mindless idiot! Has the cold gotten-"

He was silenced by a boomerang hitting him alongside the head, knocking him over. Link stared, and then the boomerang hit him on the side, nearly knocking him over. He watched it hit the ground, and wondered what had just come over him. He said, "Sheik, don't call me that."

The head elder said, "Link, Sheik would have had a point, I'm sure. But he ruined it, so I will tell you. Do you know how long that would possibly take? Because no one has ever found a way to do such a thing, there is no fathomable way to do something like that. It is basically impossible to save the sun right now. The only way I can think of is killing the king of evil."

Link replied, "I don't care. I'm not ready, and that's a fact!"

Sheik stood up, still stunned from the blow, and one of the men on the other side of the table, th same man that had been arguing with him before, said, "Link, you have to face him or we will all die!"

Link asked, "Why do you think I suggested Death Mountain for the moment being?! Are you just as clueless as Sheik said I am?!"

Link then yelled, "I have a very good way of getting myself up there with protection, and it involves the light temple."

The head elder asked, "What, exactly, do you plan to do?"

Link replied, "I don't exactly know yet! Do I look like I can just come up with plans like this off the top of my head?!"

Ruto came in, coughing pretty badly. Link turned to see that she was very miserable looking. Her whole body seemed to be trembling like she had a fever. She was wearing heavy furs, and still shivering. The color in her eyes had almost diminished, and there was hardly any color to her face anymore. She asked in a cracked voice, "What's going on?"

The head elder said, "Link here is proposing that he might be able to go to the sun and save it somehow. We are saying that there is hardly any likely way for him to do so."

Ruto said, "No, I can think of way. The lake Hylia. Link, I know that you won't want to go back down there as of right now, but you might want to think of going back into the purification system and telling one of the pipes to take you up to the sun itself."

Link asked, "Now, why do you suppose that such a thing would work?"

Ruto shrugged and said, "It's just a suggestion."

Link began thinking, and then said, "Well, it is worth a shot."

The head elder asked, "How are you planning to get down there without freezing? The water is frozen over, and the water underneath it so cold that one touch is enough to give a finger frostbite instantly!"

Link said, "I need some sort of a suit made that can protect me from the cold. Can we reverse engineer my Goron armor?"

The head elder shrugged and said, "Maybe. Even if we could, would it really work?"

Link said, "Like I said, it's worth a shot."

The head elder asked, "So, we head up to the Goron mountain, and then we have the Gorons reverse engineer your armor. Then, if all goes as planned, you go down into the freezing lake and head into the sun itself to free it from the ghastly occurrence inside. Is that what you're saying?"

Link nodded. Sheik slapped his palm to his forehead and sighed, thinking that such a plan would not work. He said, "I'm leaving."

He walked out of the meeting hall and slammed the door shut behind him. Link said, "Okay, he doesn't have to come with me if he does not want to. Let's go up to the mountain and see what we can do. We have to try this at least. If all else fails, then we go and face off against Zihark's forces."

The head elder said, "Sounds like a plan to me. How about the rest of us here?"

There was a cry of agreement. The head elder smiled and said, "Alright, we'll try this. If at all, at least we have some hope, correct?"

Link nodded, a smile on his face. His cheeks were a bright red from the intense cold, and he was beginning to feel a little cold as well. The head elder said, "Meeting adjourned!"

Link and Ruto both walked out of the room, and then they Zelda walk up to them. Link commented, "I haven't seen you around for a while. Where have you been?"

Zelda replied, "I've been around."

Ruto said, "Well, you weren't here for a long time. I was searching for you before I went into the meeting hall. Were you outside?"

Zelda nodded and said, "I was outside trying to find something of mine that I accidentally left out there. I found it, and so now I'm back in here."

Zelda then asked, "So, why do you two hang out, anyways? Is there some special reason?"

Link replied, "Yeah, we're kind of...in love."

Zelda was suddenly shocked when she heard that. After a few moments of an awkward silence, she said, "Um...I've got to go right now..."

She turned and left, leaving Link and Ruto standing there alone. Link commented, "That was weird."

Ruto asked, "What was with her right then?"

Link shrugged and said, "Ah well. It isn't like it matters too much."

Ruto suddenly sneezed, and then she sneezed about three more times, violently. Link asked, "Hey, are you okay?!"

Ruto stood up, sniffling, and replied, "I think so...I'm not really sure."

Link said, "This is getting serious. I have to stop Zihark sometime soon."

Ruto asked, "Link, don't ever leave me."

Link seemed surprised and asked, "Why would I do that?"

Ruto said, "Just don't. Unless you have to, don't ever leave me to be alone. I don't want anything to happen to either of us."

Link looked into her nearly colorless eyes, and said, "Ruto, I would never do that. I promise you, I won't ever leave you."

She seemed somewhat distressed suddenly. Link asked, "What's the matter?"

Ruto said, "Everything...I don't know what's going on anymore. I've been feeling sick ever since we set foot in the light temple, and I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I might be dying."

Link watched as tears began to run down her face and he said, "Ruto, don't think like that. Even if you feel ill, you'll be fine. Have hope."

Link wiped away one of the tears and said, "I'll always be there for you."

He embraced her then, and held her there. He felt the pain that she was undergoing. Something wasn't right. There seemed to be something like a poison running through her. He wondered what was going on, but he knew, somehow, that everything was going to be alright in the end. He didn't know how everything was going to end, but he knew that there was something good going to come out of this war that had been started. He just feared that Ruto wouldn't be there in the end.

_Have hope. I must have that, otherwise I will fail too..._he thought. How could he have hope in these times? He just didn't know anything anymore. All he knew was that there had to be something worth fighting for in these hopeless times. And, as he thought about it, he knew what that was. It was the eternal freedom from darkness, something that everyone would cherish for ages to come. He just stood there, a small glimmer of hope beginning to ignite inside of him.

_**Wow, I seem to be knocking them down again! This chapter only took me about half an hour to finish! Hope you like, and by the way, next chapter will be about hope beginning to really shine in other people's hearts. Hence, it will be titled, "A ray of hope". Hope you all like this chapter, and please submit your reviews or private message me about your opinions on this story. Thanks! Darkcloud780  
**_


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two: A ray of hope

"I'm afraid that reverse engineering it is impossible, Link," the Goron smith said.

Link stood there, almost unable to comprehend that such a thing was possible. He asked, "Why can't you?"

The Goron replied, "Simple. We have never had to develop a technique to do something like this, and so we cannot do it. We have nothing to do it with, and we do not know how."

Link stared, his hope beginning to diminish. He had went with them through freezing cold, helped keep Ruto warm until they reached the mountain, had asked where the blacksmith was, gotten lost quite a few times in the city trying to find him, and now here was the best blacksmith, and he could not make the armor to where it resisted cold.

Link asked, "Can you make an entirely new batch of armor that can withstand the cold?"

The goron shook his head. He said, "Sadly, we also do not know how to do that. The only one who did was the big goron, but he is up there, taking the heaviest of the freeze, and I do not know if he will be so kind as to do that for you."

Link said, "Dang it! I came all this way, trying hard to find the right place, all for nothing."

He began walking towards the door, and then stopped, wondering if there was even a slight chance that the big goron would help him. He asked, "Where is the big goron?"

The smith goron said, "He is at the top of the crater. That area, however, is off limits because the cold is so intense. Even just five minutes up there is enough to kill a goron. I'm surprised that the big goron hasn't died yet. He is extremely tough."

Link asked, "Are gorons adapted to cold?"

The goron shook his head and said, "No, we aren't, but maybe he has managed to adapt somehow. Why are you asking?"

Link said, "I could go up there for a while and ask him if he could make a suit for me so that I could withstand the cold there. I am not a goron, after all."

After thinking for a moment, the smith said, "You're right. You might be able to go up there. I don't know what Darunia would say, though. He's one of the gorons that's guarding the way up there right now."

Link said, "Alright, then I will talk to him about going up. I can withstand cold."

He walked off, heading up towards the path that led up to the top of the crater of Death Mountain itself. He felt the effects of the cold increasing heavily as he walked onward, and by the time he reached where the guards were, he was sure that it was the same temperature it had been on top of the mountain of the Light Temple. He reached two Gorons guarding the path onward, one was shivering while the other was standing there grimly.

Link walked up the one that wasn't shivering and asked, "May I step through to see the big goron, Darunia?"

Darunia quietly shook his head and said, "No, you may not. No one is allowed up there."

Link said, "Darunia, I need to talk with him to see if I can get him to create some sort of an armor that can help me withstand the cold. This darkness and freezing cold has to be stopped soon, otherwise everyone's going to die anyways."

Darunia said, "I still can't let you go up there. It's suicide up there."

Link began thinking of something to say that would persuade Darunia to let him pass, and then he came up with an idea. He said, "Darunia, every winter, it snows down in Hyrule. It is colder down there, but it stays hot up here. You gorons never got a chance to adapt to the cold, but we did. We had to adapt to for many years. I think a human could go up there for a lot longer than a goron."

Darunia thought about it, and then said, "You may be right. Alright, I'll let you pass, but if you start to freeze too badly, get back down here where it is warmer."

Link nodded and said, "I won't let myself die up there."

He walked up past the two guards and when he reached the top, it was so cold that it was easily penetrating the heavy furs he was wearing. He began shivering almost instantly, and hoped that he could talk some sense into the big goron before he froze up on top this mountain. He walked onward, and then noticed a huge shape in the darkness before him.

He called, "Hello there! Are you awake?"

For a moment, there was no reply. Then, it stood all the way up and he could see a pair of two huge eyes gleaming a little in the darkness. They looked down at him and he a deep voice asked, "Who might you be to disturb me from my sleep?"

Link said, "I need your help. Can you create an armor that can withstand this cold?"

The big goron said, "I'm not smithing out here. I could create such an armor, yes, but to do so would ruin the peace that I've been longing for years!"

Link didn't give up and said, "I can make a proposal to you."

The big goron asked, "What kind of a proposal?"

Link replied, "I can have Darunia post guards and prevent anyone from coming up and disturbing you for however long you want, if you create this armor."

The big goron seemed surprised and asked, "Can you really do that?"

Link replied, "I'm friends with the king. I'll just tell him what you want and let him decide."

The big goron almost seemed to smile and said, "That's kind of you. Would you really have them let me sleep for however long I wanted? Even if it were two hundred years?"

Link was already beginning to feel like he was going to freeze to death, and he said, "Y-Y-Yes..."

The big goron said, "You've got a deal. In fact, I had just finished making one when as an experiment when this cold arrived. Not only can it protect against the cold, but I believe that it can allow you to breath where there is no air. I made it as an experiment a few years back, and actually turned out to be highly resistant to almost all natural elements! It's protection against weapons is not that good, however, so be careful if you enter melee combat."

He dug around in a bag that it had, and pulled out a suit of white cloth that was, coincidently, Link's exact size. Link took and then said, "T-T-Thank..y-you..."

He managed to turn himself around and began walking back down the staircase. He was feeling numb now, and hoped that he would be able to warm himself up in time to avoid frostbite. He reached the bottom of the staircase holding the suit of armor and Darunia asked, "Are you alright, Link?"

Link manged to nod and said, "Yeah, I'm...fine."

He walked onward until he found a brightly burning fire. He stepped close to it and warmed himself up near it. He then walked away, holding the suit, and then wondered, _Will I be able to tell Darunia after I get back? I hope I will..._

He was just about to reach his room when Darunia walked up and said, "I was listening to the entire conversation while you were out there. I realize that you had to make this choice, but perhaps it wasn't the best idea."

Link said, "I had to do something. Besides, there's going to be peace after I'm done."

Darunia seemed surprised and asked, "Are you so sure?"

Link gave him a confused look and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Darunia heaved out a great sigh and said, "Link, everyone here is getting their hopes up for you. However, at the rate things are going, I don't think that this fight is any longer about bringing around true peace. I think it is simply about killing a person that will destroy the entire world if we don't do something. I don't think that peace is any longer a part of the equation right now."

Link seemed surprised and said, "Darunia, that's what it has always been!"

Darunia shook his head and said, "No, it hasn't. Every time peace has been restored, it was supposed to last for thousands of years. However, this has rarely happened in Hyrule's case. The peace here would always last about a hundred years or less, and then Ganondorf or someone like that would come and ruin it. Link, the hero, has always risen to destroy this evil and restored peace again. However, peace has never really lasted forever, nor will it probably ever."

Link asked, "Then, are you saying we shouldn't hope?"

Darunia replied, "No, you should hope that you destroy this evil and bring about peace. Just know that this peace will most likely only be temporary, not permanent like everyone thinks it will be."

Link seemed to understand what Darunia was saying and said, "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for your wise words."

Darunia smiled and said, "I am, after all, the sage of fire, and the king of the gorons."

Link seemed surprised, but didn't say anything. Darunia walked off, and Link though, _Wow, I never knew that he was the sage of fire. So...I wonder if I should keep training for later on threats, and maybe even train my son, if I have any, to be able to combat any threats that come along?_

Link walked into his room, still contemplating a whole group of questions that suddenly popped into his head after that little talk. He put the suit on, and then, as he was contemplating his next move, he unwittingly fell asleep, feeling far more comfortable in this suit than he had felt in a long time.

_**I wonder what you guys will think of my critical examination of the Zelda games, which is explained in Darunia's speech that he makes to Link in this chapter. I hope you like, and the next temple is going to be in outer space. I don't how it will work...yet. I hope you all enjoy it! Darkcloud780**_


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: Outer Space

Link floated outward towards a faintly glowing ball being orbited by a black outline. The pipe trick had worked, but not the way he was anticipating. It had launched him off a mountain that was way out of Hyrule. It sent him out into space, and now he was relying up on the suit to keep him alive as he floated towards the nearly powerless sun. He had waited for hours, flying at amazing speeds towards this object. Then, as he now neared it, something of a magical barrier began to slow him down as he neared it. He landed right on the floating satellite without any injury.

He looked around, and then noticed a few lights around a small entrance about the right size for him. He walked towards it, hoping that he could find a way to restore the sun inside. The light temple had not worked, now he was hoping that this would work. He walked inside, keeping a constant lookout for anything inside. His sword was out, though he knew that fighting in close quarters would probably be a bad idea right now.

He walked inside, and was surprised to find that the lights inside a metal hallway flashed on brightly in front of him. The hallway he was standing in was entirely covered in metal and strange flashing lights that seemed to project some unreadable words on the walls. After trying to make out what the words said for a few minutes, he concluded that they were not readable, or at least understandable to him. He walked onward, now curious as to what kind of race designed this place. The lights were bright and held in some sort of a glass. They were glowing blue and illuminating the hallway a faint blue. There was a metal door ahead of him that had a strange set of lights inside a glass case.

He walked towards the door and dared to touch the strange lighted panel that now hung before him. It suddenly turned green and the door flashed open. Link was scared silly by it suddenly opening, and then he looked inside. The room on the other side was huge. There was a large tank that was sucking in the suns energy and converting it to the rest of the station. However, the machine seemed indestructible with what weapons Link currently had.

He looked around the room to see some strange black creatures walking around. They were unaware of him at the moment, so Link took a moment to survey the rest of the room. The entire floor was entirely made out metal, with the walls going up like a cylinder. There was another walking space up above him jutting out from the wall. There were creatures up there as well. The beam of light, which was faint right now, was going through the center pipe up to the top where it was being converted into lightning and sent throughout the facility.

Link thought, _How are they managing to harness lighting power to power this thing?_

He finally decided to step in, seeing that there was nothing else of interest to him to see. He walked in, and almost all of the creatures looked over and stopped what they were doing. He held up his sword and shield and said, "I make you pay for harnessing the power of the sun!"

The creatures seemed scared, and Link could guess why. No one had ever been able to get into outer space, and here was this man standing here, in outer space, breathing just fine and acting just fine. He was aware that outside there had been no gravity, and he was floating freely. Now, however, there was gravity, and it felt nice to be in an area that actually had what he guessed was what the gorons called pressure.

One of the most daring charged him, holding a shadowy knife. Now was his chance to really intimidate them. He easily knocked it aside and stabbed the creature with his sword. He made it appear to be effortless, and the effect worked. The others fell back in terror of this new foe. Their eyes were wide and filled with fear, and he yelled, "Get out before I have to do the same to you!"

He accidentally yelled it with a little bit of a snarl, but that was the right thing. The creatures all began scattering, shouting out in fear. He hoped that any of the true fighters wouldn't be too hard for him to fight. For now, he had to find a way to shut down this strange mechanism in the middle of the room. He looked around for any doors. There were two others besides the entrance down on the floor he was on, and he was sure that there were others up on the floor above him. He looked around, trying to decide which door to go through.

He decided on the one to his immediate left. He turned and walked towards it, hoping that he could find where he needed to go. Inside, it was a straight hall with three doors. One on either side and one straight ahead. He walked forward, and stopped in between the three doors. He thought for a moment, and then decided to the take the left door. He turned to it and found another one of those panels. He pushed it and watched the door open, still enamored by the fact that it opened by itself.

Inside, there was a straight hall with blue, transparent walls over a series of rooms. There were a few of those small creatures walking around, but this time they had strange devices in their hands. One noticed him, and pointed it at him. It was a small device that had a glowing red point and was held underneath the main part of the device itself. Link wondered what it was, but nevertheless was going to be cautious.

He pulled off his sword and shield, and then it shot a beam at him. He barely put his shield in the way and then watched the laser get deflected and hit the creature right in the head. It put a searing hole right through its head, and the creature fell over dead. The other one looked over right as Link threw his sword. The sword hit it dead in the chest, and it stumbled back, and then fell over dead.

Link walked over to retrieve his sword and then he heard a voice say, "Help me..."

He looked over into one of the cells to see a man that looked very much like him standing in the cell. He had scars from various torture techniques, and he was obviously wanting out. Link asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "If you let me out, I will explain everything that is going on here."

Link looked around the cell for another panel to release him. Finding one, he walked over and touched it. The forcefield vanished before Links' eyes, and Link saw the man in full detail. He was about his height, wearing white shorts and was quite muscular. His right arm seemed rather ripped from recent cuts, his chest was burnt in some areas, but his face was extremely strong despite the pains he must have been feeling. His green eyes shone clearly and his black hair was actually nicely combed back and wavy.

Link asked again, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "My name is Zihark."

Link cringed when he heard that name, but then realized that it was probably just a coincidence. A creepy one, yes, but a coincidence, nonetheless. He said, "My name is Link. I was wondering if you knew how to stop this thing from draining the sun's energy."

Zihark seemed confused and asked, "What is the sun?"

Link was shocked by that reply, and said, "Um...you know, the bright ball of light that this thing is floating around."

The Zihark seemed to realize what Link meant and said, "Oh! You mean Sol, the star of this solar system. Yes, yes, I know how to stop these things from draining its energy."

Link seemed confused and asked, "Is it really called Sol?"

Zihark nodded with a smile and said, "Yes! There are many stars in this galaxy, and this is but one of the thousands, no, billions, out there."

Link was surprised and asked, "There are other suns out there?"

Zihark laughed and said, "You are naïve about such things. I will explain such things to you later. For now, we must find the computer that reverses the process that is causing the sun to lose its energy. You lead the way, Link."

Link began walking back to the entrance and then stopped when Zihark bent over to pick up one of the strange devices. Zihark explained, "These laser guns are invaluable tools to use in fights with these things."

Link was once again confused by the use of the words, but didn't ask about them this time. He walked out and then went through the door that had been on his other side. He began noticing that all of the temple looked oddly the same. It was all made out of sheets of metal with occasional screens flashing up on the walls, but there were never any distinguishing features about the rooms. This was probably a sign that this place wasn't very old at all.

This room was a torture chamber, and Zihark shuddered when they walked in. He said, "How I would like to destroy these machines that have caused me so much pain..."

Link suggested, "Why don't we do it?"

Zihark replied, "Too much time. Besides, we can easily activate the self-destruct on this thing and blow it out of the stars. That would just as easily destroy these machines without the hassle of having to destroy them ourselves."

Link turned and walked out. He walked towards the door that led further into the ship from this path. They walked in and found a large computer terminal inside. Zihark laughed and said, "Cool! This is the place, Link. From here, I'm sure that I can reverse the process."

He walked over to the computer terminal and turned it on. He began working a series of buttons on it and the information on screen changed several times. Link couldn't understand any of it, though he was sure that Zihark could. He seemed to know what he was doing, and then gave a cry of dismay. He said, "Shoot! I should have known that there would be a password!"

Link asked, "Password?"

Zihark explained, "It's a special code that have to put in to confirm security. Only generals and commanders know these codes. Come, we must find the commander himself and see if we can't get the password from his data pad."

Link was once again confused by Zihark's odd wording. He asked, "Where do you come from?"

Zihark laughed and said, "I come from the planet Gamilon. It is a planet relatively near Gaia, the planet where the legendary kingdom of Hyrule resides."

Link was about to ask him all about this incredible things, but Zihark said, "Quickly now. We have to find the password and reverse the system before Sol goes out. If it does, then we can never reverse the process and both Gaia and Gamilon will perish."

Link turned around and said, "Alright, let's go!"

Zihark said, "One more thing, Link. From my calculations, we only have twenty minutes to do this. We must hurry, and that might mean finishing fights as fast as possible, ignoring certain doors that I know aren't the right ones, etc."

When Link heard etcetera, he was again confused. He had never heard the word said, but then he knew that they were on a tight time. They had to hurry. Link began running back out the hallway and Zihark called, "That's the spirit, Link! We must hurry now!"

They ran back out and Link ran to the other door that wasn't explored. They went in and it was a dead end. Link wondered what was going on, because he saw a door higher up. He began trying to find a way to scale the wall when suddenly the floor underneath him started going up. He gave a cry of surprise and backed away from the wall.

Zihark laughed and said, "This, my friend, is an elevator. It is a self working device that moves a piece of the floor up and down to allow people to get from one level to the one above or below. Some elevators have multiple levels!"

They reached the top and Link opened the door. There were none of the creatures on the crosswalk, so they ran across. Zihark commented, "There are usually more in this room."

Link grinned and said, "That was my fault. I scared them all off."

Zihark laughed and asked, "Playing the intimidating hero?"

Link replied, "Yep!"

They ran through the next door to find a room with a glass floor, and three doors. Zihark said, "I think the one on the left led into the science labs. Not where we want to go."

Link ran through the one that was ahead of them and they arrived in some sort of a long series of hallways. Link and Zihark kept running down them as fast as they could, until they reached a more important seeming door. Link and Zihark ran through it, and saw a tall man sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. He had blue hair and was wearing black robes. He was obviously surprised to find them here in his room. He asked, "Who might you be?"

Link replied, "I am Link, the hero of time!"

Zihark cried, "I am Zihark, envoy to Hyrule!"

The leader said, "I see. I thought that my forces were going to be enough. However, I should have known that they would run."

He suddenly whipped out a small blaster and shot at Link, who luckily had his shield in the way. Link leaped at the man, but he kept going up and hit the roof. He collapsed onto the roof like it was the floor. He pulled out his bow and shot an arrow at the man, who merely leaped aside. It now looked he was on the roof from he and Zihark's perspective.

He suddenly pulled out a larger version of one of those small pistols and it began rapidly firing lasers out. Link held his mirror shield in the way. All of the shots bounced off of it randomly, and then they stopped as the man uttered a cry of pain. Zihark had shot him in the arm. The man cried, "Fine! I will show you who is the most powerful person here, weaklings!"

Suddenly, Link's weight intensified to the point that he almost fell. Link asked, "What is he doing?"

Zihark replied, "He's making the gravity heavier and heavier. If we don't do something, then we will be crushed."

Suddenly, Zihark had an idea. He threw his pistol to Link, who caught and then fired at the man. He kept firing, and the man kept barely dodging with lightning fast reflexes and speed. Then, he nicked him on the cheek with one of the lasers and the man said, "Oh, is that how you want to play, then?"

The gravity began changing multiple times, throwing them around the room. Now he leaped at them with claws protruding from his hands, and although Link could easily block, he was having a hard time keeping his balance with gravity constantly shifting. It became a test of endurance, with Link constantly having to flip himself around to land on his feet, and sometime having to do a complete flip when the gravity reversed, and then went back to normal again a split second later.

After a while of this, and after sustaining a few cuts, he finally stabbed the man heavily in his right shoulder. He uttered a groan of pain, and then said, "Now you've done it. I'll deal with you here and now!"

Link and Zihark flew to the middle of the room, towards a hole of blackness. Zihark freaked out and shot wildly. The laser veered off course and went into the hole. Link eyes went wide as he realized that it would suck them in and probably kill them both. Time seemed to stop as Lin's mind raced. The only thing he could think of was the mirror shield.

He slammed it forward and stopped up the black hole. Now, he was having a huge war with the now closing black hole keeping his shield. If he didn't manage, then even the barely open black hole would still suck him in. Link pulled with all of his might, and then finally managed to keep the shield from going in. They fell to the floor and Zihark shot another laser, which the captain simply moved aside, avoiding.

Link stood up and looked at him. He called, "You may be powerful, but we aren't about to be squashed like flies!"

Link threw his sword, something the captain wasn't expecting. It hit the man dead in the chest, and he stumbled back in surprise. He said, "I...didn't think...I could be..."

He never finished his sentence. He breathed his last and collapsed up against a wall. Link walked up and pulled his sword out of the man's chest and said, "Good riddance."

Zihark walked over and eagerly searched the body for something. He produced a small metal pad with a glass screen. He quickly scanned over the words that appeared on it, and then said, "Alright! I have the codes! Let's get back down!"

They ran back out and Zihark pulled out a small electronic timepiece. He called, "Hurry! We only have five minutes!"

They ran out and Link daringly jumped down to the ground below. He rolled and then heard Zihark follow his example. Zihark stood up, caught the data pad without even looking, and followed Link at a running pace back to the computer room. They reached it, and Zihark frantically typed the data into the computer. Suddenly, Link heard a strangely feminine voice say, "Sun tapping process put into immediate reverse."

A huge rumble went through the station, and the voice said, "Warning! Heat levels rising drastically. Core overheating. Evacuate immediately!"

A loud siren sounded and Link freaked. He said, "Alright! We have to get out now!"

He began running and then, when they reached the main room, he heard Zihark call, "Link! I will meet you soon, on Hyrule. I trust that you will be able to perform what you need to do safely!"

Something landed on his suit, and then he suddenly vanished. He appeared back down on the ground, feeling refreshed. He felt the cold hit him again and he looked around. He was back in the snowy wasteland that was, at the current Hyrule, he looked around to find that he was on top of the Goron's mountain, with the big goron sleeping nearby. He walked down inside and saw that there were no guards at the entrance any longer.

He walked down, wondering what was going on. He reached the bottom and found Ruto walking up, with Darunia near her. She was still shivering greatly, and when she looked up at Link, she seemed to be in pain. Darunia exclaimed, "Link! You're back! Did your journey reach a success?"

He asked his question with a little concern. He was almost sure that such a thing might not be possible, but even a slight chance was going to keep him going. Link took off the mask and they saw he was smiling. He replied, "Operation Sol was success!"

Almost as if to add more flair to his words, a grand and shining light suddenly appeared in the sky. The sun was back to full energy and a huge wave of newfound heat hit Link, Ruto, and Darunia/ Ruto freaked and said, "I think I'd better get out of here before I roast!"

She ran back down and left Link and Darunia, both unaffected by the heat, standing there. Darunia had a huge smile on his face and he triumphantly said, "Link, you've done it. You've saved the entire county of Hyrule and foiled Zihark's plans."

Link was about to say to the contrary, but he remembered that this Zihark was the evil one, not the one that had helped him back on the ship. He said, "Yep! And now I'm going to go stop him once and for all."

Darunia seemed surprised and asked, "At your strength? I don't think it would be recommendable."

Link said, "This is going to wear on too long. I don't want that to happen, and neither does anyone else. I'm going to stop him now."

Darunia grinned and said, "Link, I appreciate your bravery, and I'm sure that Ruto does as well. Oh! I remembered something that you had suggested to me a while back and now I've provided a means for you to do it."

He produced a small black box from his hand and handed it to Link. Link took it and said, "Thanks. Now, I'll see if I can even ask the question."

He walked off, following where Ruto had went. He followed her to her room and knocked on the door. He heard Ruto reply, "Come in!"

Link opened the door to see Ruto no longer shivering, and she said, "Oh! Hi, Link! How's it going, lover?"

Link smiled and said, "I was just making sure you were okay. After seeing you shivering like that..."

Ruto sighed and said, "Yeah, that was unpleasant."

She noticed what he was holding barely, and asked, "What is that?"

Now it came down to the proposal. Link, however, was not as unsure as some would be about the decision. He had made up his mind a while back. He said, "Well, there is one question I would like to ask you."

He knelt on the ground and asked the grand question. He asked, "Will you marry me?"

He held up the box and it seemed to pop open on its own. Inside, there was the Zora's Sapphire, a small gem, yes, but an important one. It was the Zora's Engagement Ring. Ruto was awed by its presence, and then was overwhelmed by joy. She cried, "Oh, Link! Of course I will, darling!"

Link stood up and took her embrace. They stood there, Link feeling an overwhelming sense of relief and joy spreading throughout him. He thought, _Well, now Zihark can't do anything to stop me from marrying her. I have already proposed, and she wont' marry anyone else, even by force. Take that, __Zihark. That's another blow I've dealt to you in one day!_

_**Hey guys! The next chapter will be climax! I have it all planned and everything! I had intended to add more dungeons, but I wanted to move on to other things, so I will make a thrilling conclusion. Besides, all of the story led up to this point already, it would be silly to drag it out. Hope you liked this chapter!**_


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four: The final assault

Link crouched on a hill a little ways away from the castle, surveying the grounds carefully. From what he could see, there was nothing around the castle grounds. It was just a barren wasteland. There was no grass, no trees, nothing natural moving on the ground. The only thing he could see in the now broad daylight was the castle ahead, the drawbridge broken down and a way inside through purple, mucky waters. Ruto had wondered if she could swim into the castle from the sewage, but he would have to say no. The muck looked exactly like the stuff that had been in the purification system before.

He turned around and walked down the hill to the waiting troops below. He said, "Well, I have the answer to all of our questions."

The commander asked, "What are they?"

Link replied, "First, the castle drawbridge is open. We have an easy access inside. Second, no Zoras can go in there. The waters are corrupted by the foul muck that was in the purification system before. Third...I think I'm ready for the assault."

The commander said, "I knew that we could count on you to be ready when we needed you to be. Well, here we go for peace in Hyrule."

Darunia's words rang through Link's head again and he almost repeated them in front of the commander. Instead, he said, "Yes, let's do this."

He turned and then the commander began leading the army up after Link. The Zoras, including Ruto, followed on foot. They weren't about to go in the purple muck anyways. They reached the entrance and three by three, they marched in. Link walked with a confident stride, never stopping, even when the enemy army coming. He simply drew his sword and listened as everyone followed his example. He walked forward, staring down the enemy commander in front of him. It wasn't Zihark. It was that cursed Shadow Link that had given him so much trouble.

Link wasn't daunted by that, though. He simply began running towards the battle, and everyone charged after him. He saw the gorons rolling past him and slamming into armies ranks. He was one of the first humans to reach the battle. He blocked Shadow Link's overhead blow and then kicked Shadow Link in the gut knocking him back into the armies. Link ran in after him and leaped at him, sword pointing to the ground, and he prepared to finish his ultimate foe with one blow.

Shadow Link brought his shield up and knocked the sword aside and then he knocked Link aside by bringing the shield around the other way. Link rolled and then stood up, a might power beginning to surge through him. Shadow Link ran at him and then hesitated. There was something about him for a moment as he stood there, but he didn't know what it was.

Link then leaped forward with surprising agility and plunged his sword into Shadow Link's shield arm, rendering it useless. Shadow Link gave a cry of agony at being struck, and then asked, "Why? Why do you fight for something so meaningless as peace?"

Link narrowed his eyes into a glare and said, "Peace may be meaningless in a way, because it never lasts, but that doesn't mean that it should come about for as long as it can be allowed. I fight for a better world. I want Hyrule to be prepared for future threats, and so I will prepare it for such. My son shall be a tribute to that."

Shadow Link seemed confused and asked, "When did you become engaged?"

Link grinned and said, "About three days ago. I've beaten Zihark to a vital point, and so I have sealed his ultimate defeat."

Shadow Link's eyes went wide and he said, "You proposed to _her_?!"

Link nodded. Shadow Link suddenly said, "You may have gotten my master a lot angrier than you should have..."

Link shook his head and said, "I don't care about his rage. He means nothing to me anymore. He's just a threat to me and Hyrule that must be taken care of."

Shadow Link then lunged at Link with his sword. Link cleanly leaned aside and stabbed Shadow Link with his sword. Shadow Link uttered a groan and when Link withdrew his sword, he fell to the ground, limp. Link looked towards the actual castle. They were in the market, still fighting. The castle itself was there, dark and gloomy against the well lit sky.

Ruto came up beside him and stood there, watching it. She said, "This is it, isn't it."

Link nodded and then said, "Let's finish this...once and for all."

He began charging towards the entrance to the castle, followed by a few others. Among them was Darunia. He was going to stick with Link all the way to the end if he could. They arrived at the entrance to find it closed, and a familiar person standing in front of it and setting up something on it. Link recognized him instantly and cried, "Skull kid! What are you doing here?"

The skull kid jumped, startled by him suddenly appearing out of nowhere. He turned around slowly and freaked when he saw the others there. He said, "No! Don't hurt me!"

Link said, "Hey, its okay! Were you trying to get the door open?"

The skull kid glanced up, and then nodded excitedly. He said, "When I heard of the assault, I decided to drop the motto for a few hours, and so I have; by helping you."

Link grinned and said, "Thanks! You're help is greatly appreciated."

The skull kid shook his head and said, "Not at all! Just make sure to keep the motto to heart."

He suddenly vanished, and Link opened the door into the castle. There were no guards at the front entrance. Apparently, they had all went out to battle, all except for Zihark. But, of course Zihark would have guards. He wouldn't be stupid enough to leave himself unguarded, and so Link kept his sword out and kept alert. He was expecting anything to jump out at him right now.

He walked onward through a hall that had a red carpet all through the hall. There were occasional armor suits set up like statues, each holding a different weapon. Suddenly, Sheik came running in and called, "Link, wait!"

Link whipped around, expecting to face a foe, but when he saw Sheik, he asked, "What took you so long?"

Sheik was panting heavily and said, "I had...an errand to run in that mountain town. I finished it and came here as fast as I could. I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier."

Link turned around and said, "Alright, that adds on more person to our group. Zihark doesn't stand a chance."

They walked on, and followed the red carpet. Then, Link began to hear faint organ music playing a creepy tune. It suddenly sounded familiar, and he knew the name of that tune. He had heard it before from somewhere, however he didn't remember from where. They walked up, and Ruto asked, "That tune...why is it playing?"

Link didn't say anything, allowing Sheik to guess, " I suppose that Zihark is playing victory music? It doesn't sound like it, though..."

Link said, "No, he's expecting us."

Sheik gave Link a surprised look and asked, "Why would he be expecting us if he didn't know that we..."

Link said, "Exactly. The skull kid had warned him. That's why you don't trust a skull kid, because you never know what they are going to do."

They found themselves going up a winding staircase, and at the top was where Zihark would be. Link thought; _Maybe he was foolish enough to leave himself unguarded. I wonder, does he have a plan of how to defeat us in mind?_

They reached the top and heard the music coming from right beyond the doors. Link had a strange feeling of this same exact thing happening once before, but he couldn't remember where it had happened. He pushed open the door and found himself in a grand throne room, larger than he had ever once believed one could be. It was huge. The ceiling was too high up to even see from where they were standing. It was bare, except for the carpet, the throne, and two grand stained glass windows on either side. Sitting in the throne, with an organ near him, was Zihark.

Link called, "Zihark! We've come to defeat you!"

Zihark seemed amused and said, "Oh really? Well, I think you'll find yourself sorely disappointed. Even with the Master Sword, you stand no chance of defeating me."

Link smirked and said, "That's where you're wrong."

Zihark ignored that comment, instead turning to face Ruto. He said, "My bride...why did you run? Why did you go with such a foolish commoner as him?"

Ruto grimaced in disgust and said, "I'm not your bride, for one thing. For another thing, I went with him because I love him."

Zihark's grin faded, and he mouthed something. Then, his mouth twisted into a malicious snarl and he cried, "You fool! I will kill you and your lover where you stand!"

He pulled out his dark sword and got into a fighting stance. Link said, "I'll fight him alone. You guys go help with the battle."

Zihark charged from across the throne room at Link, and Link charged at him. They both swung and their blades met and repelled each other, a bright flash emitting from where they hit. Link was spun by the force of the impact and then turned himself around to face Zihark face to face. Zihark began swinging in a series of fast blows, going mainly for the head and torso region. Link parried, not even daring to bring out his shield for fear that it would hinder him. He parried every blow, and then he countered one of his blows, hitting Zihark across the side of his chest.

He rolled aside of a spin attack and stood up and delivered one of his own, being aware that Zihark had charged again. He forced Zihark to leap backwards to narrowly avoid the blow. Link then turned and ran at Zihark. He leaped over him and sliced down at his head. Zihark ducked, and when Link landed, he stood there. Zihark, thinking he had turned around, leaped to the side, rolled, and came up right in front of Link with a spiraling slash.

Link performed a backflip and narrowly avoided the blow. How he anticipated that Zihark was going to do that, he didn't know. He didn't think about that, though. Instead, he kept his mind focused on the fight. He ran forward and swung at Zihark's head. Zihark ducked under it and chopped at Link's thighs. Link managed to leap high enough to avoid being cut, and then he came down, his sword pointing towards the ground. Zihark rolled aside, and then Link moved his sword the side, landed, and then turned around just in time to block another blow.

Zihark said, "You should never have gone with Ruto, for now you will perish."

Suddenly, four of three other Ziharks appeared around Link. Thinking quickly, he rolled aside through a narrow gap and avoided the other three as they swung. He stood up eying them and wondering how he would defeat them. He was about to try one of the desperate strategies that came up, when Ruto and the others began charging across the throne room.

Zihark growled, "This was not anticipated. Others, take care of our intruders! I will handle Link!"

Link poised his blade in a ready position and leaped aside of Ziharks's charge. He then charged Zihark, hoping to catch him off guard. He almost did, but Zihark leaped aside and cut Link across the side. Link felt the searing pain of the cut, and the old stab wound seemed to open up again for a moment. He almost fell to his knees, but he managed to keep standing and then swung at Zihark again. Suddenly, he remembered all of his equipment. This would be one of his only chances to defeat Zihark.

Ruto met one of the fake Ziharks blade to blade, facing off against him with determination. His eyes were burning with anger, and he growled, "You shouldn't have chosen him, Ruto..."

Ruto smirked and said, "Well, who's choice is that? I think you have the wrong idea if you wanted to have me as a bride."

She pushed him back and charged at him, hoping to hit him a few times before he recovered. She hit him along the chest, and no blood came out. She rolled under his slice at her neck and came up behind him. She stabbed into his back, and he cried out in pain. As he fell, he uttered, "Link doesn't stand a chance against the real me..."

Darunia met his while rolling. He bowled it over and nearly crushed it before rolling onward off of it. He stopped rolling and turned around. He began running towards it with great speed for a goron. It had just stood up and was turning around when he punched it in the face, sending it flying. He ran after it, and was caught off guard by it leaping at him. Its sword went straight towards his throat, but he was swifter than a normal goron. He snapped his hands together and caught the sword right before it hit his neck.

He then threw the sword back and charged after Zihark. While he was still on the ground, he pounded his foot onto his chest. The fake uttered a moan of pain and said, "Wait...I'm not really..."

Darunia grinned and said, "Yes, I know that."

He rolled into a ball, and then propelled himself off the ground. He came crashing down on top of the fake with a ground shattering pound. The fake uttered a cry of agony as it was crushed underneat his heavy weight and strength, and then vanished. Darunia popped out of his ball just in time to find a man running into the room, holding a brightly glowing blade.

Sheik had a hard time with his. The sword flashed extremely fast again and again, not giving Sheik even an opportunity to think about blocking or fighting back. Instead, he was dodging, sometimes even using his ninja strength and skill to flip over the fake, roll underneath his legs, run up and kick off walls, and even appear behind the fake. But no matter what he did, he couldn't find an opening in his offense.

He said with an effort, "You're better than I thought!"

The fake kept attacking, and then he hit the wall. This was a perfect time for Sheik to attack, and he took it. He began his own ruthless offense, keeping his opponent on his toes. Even when he barely saw Link and Zihark having a hammer to sword fight, he didn't flinch. He kept attacking, and his attacks were nearly impossible to dodge, yet the fake was dodging and parrying. Then, he threw one of his knives and watched with satisfaction as it buried itself into the fakes head.

Link, in the meantime, had whipped out his Megaton hammer with amazing strength and speed and was matching a sudden strength in Zihark with it. He was wielding it with both hands like a skilled wielder of a broadsword, matching Zihark's heavy two-handed blows with his own. There was a flash of light between them as they clashed, and he barely saw Sheik fighting with all of his might out of the corner of his eye.

He wasn't distracted by this sight, and just kept fighting. Zihark said, "You've grown good, old student."

Link grinned and said, "Thanks, old timer."

He suddenly hit Zihark dead in the chest with his Megaton hammer, sending him up against a wall. Zihark was crippled from the blow, pain surging through his chest. He coughed out, "Now...you've done it..."

He began focusing, and the sword of evil suddenly flew into him. A red glow surrounded him. He said, "Now...witness your ultimate demise, hero."

He flew into the middle of the room and called, "Ganon! Use me!"

Link cringed when he heard that name and ran towards him. He kept running, hoping to destroy Zihark before anything happened. He swung his sword with all of his might, but Zihark suddenly turned around and blocked. Link grimaced when he saw a pure white blade in a new person's hands. It had the same evil red aura around it, and he knew who he was up against.

The swords moved and the face of the king of evil himself was revealed. Link's eyes went wide with fear as soon as his eyes met those of Ganondorf. Ganondorf asked, "Are you the new hero?"

He suddenly flung Link back. Link flipped and landed on his feet. He replied, "Yes, and I will be your end!"

Ganondorf laughed and said, "Oh, I don't think so, hero..."

He ran at Link, sword held in both hands. Link pulled out his shield now and ran at Ganondorf, also holding his sword in both hands. Their blades met and a loud clang of metal sounded throughout the entire throne room. Link began pushing against the lord of darkness, and found that he began winning. He kept pushing against this green skinned man, and finally pushed him back and then he cut him along the stomach.

It was somewhat hindered by the leather armor that he was wearing, but not enough to stop it from cutting Ganondorf. He growled in pain and then backhanded Link across the face. Link was knocked to the ground, and Ganondorf leaped upon him to finish him. His hand held Link's sword arm down, but now his shield arm. Thinking quickly, Link slammed Ganondorf alongside the head with his shield, and he knocked Ganondorf aside. He kicked into the air and brought himself up to his feet.

Ganondorf turned around, and then he summoned a barrier around him and Link. He said, "This is just to make sure others, like him, don't interfere."

Link looked and saw Zihark running up, holding a brightly glowing sword. Link didn't call out, but instead turned to Ganondorf with an intent gleam in his eye. He said, "Let's finish this."

He held up his sword and shield, and Ganondorf simply grinned. He said, "Do you really think you can win?"

Link nodded, causing Ganondorf to laugh insanely. He said, "You fool! You can't defeat me now! I will show you that I've become an unbeatable foe at last!"

He ran at Link and thrust his sword forward, hoping to catch Link off guard. Link leaned aside and then leaped over the blade when Ganondorf flipped it around and swung at his hand. He rolled and came out in a stab. He missed Ganondorf by inches as he leaped aside. He commented, "For a big guy like yourself, you're exceptionally agile."

He swung at Ganondorf, his blow was parried easily. He was kicked into the barrier, and was electrocuted by it. He looked back at the glowing red barrier and then rolled aside when he saw Ganondorf's reflection running up to finish him. He looked back at Ganondorf and stabbed at his side. He hit there, and Ganondorf growled again in pain, and this time swung to backhand Link again.

Link ducked and then leaped aside of his kick. Suddenly, he saw Zihark throw the sword through the barrier. He caught it by the hilt, leaped over Ganondorf's lunge, and then swung down at his head with the energy blade. It cut him in the eyes and temporarily blinded him. Link landed and then stabbed backwards and hit Ganondorf directly in the chest.

Ganondorf stopped there, caught off guard by a tactic he didn't foresee. He looked up Link and said, "You couldn't have beaten...me. I...am the...king...of evil..."

Link snarled and said, "No, you're just a pawn of the real Ganondorf, Zihark."

Ganondorf seemed confused, and then the face changed back to Zihark. Blood was running down the Master Sword, and Link pulled it free of Zihark's chest. He turned and was about to leave when he heard Zihark said, "Link, I'm sorry..."

Link stopped. The voice sounded like it had weeks ago. He turned around and ran back over. He knelt down and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zihark looked up and said, "Link, Ganondorf was using me as a pawn ever since the time we met."

Link was surprised that he was talking so clearly despite the wound. He felt a sudden guilt hit him. He said, "Zihark...I'm sorry."

Zihark shook his head and said, "No, you don't need to be sorry, Link. You needed to destroy evil...I just wish that it didn't have to end this way."

Link asked, "Why didn't fight?"

Zihark replied, "I did fight, Link. But his power, combined with the Triforce of Power overwhelmed me."

Ruto walked over, and asked, "Zihark, why didn't you keep fighting?"

Zihark turned his now weary eyes to her and said, "Ruto, don't worry about this anymore. The same goes to you Link. Just..."

He coughed up blood, and Link began thinking frantically. He said, "Zihark, I'll get you some help. Hang-"

Zihark interrupted him and said, "Link...live...with...her...forever. I...I...want...you..."

He fought to get the last words out, but he failed. His heart stopped, his breath came out one last time, and then he fell. Link's shock was still there. He had killed an innocent person without even knowing it. All because Ganondorf had possessed them and made them act like they were the king of evil. He gave a glance to Ruto, a worrying though entering his head. What if she became possessed? Then what would he do?

_No, that's not possible,_ he thought.

He sighed and said, "Rest in peace, Zihark."

He stood up, the horrors of what he had just seen filling his head. Any person...this same thing could happen to anyone, including the ones he loved most. He wondered if there was any way to stop Ganandorf once and for all, and if he could do that. The thought continued to ring through his head as he left the castle.

_**Final chapter!...or is it? Just wait...there's the epilogue to this story that must be done before this story can be concluded. Will be posted in a few minutes, as it won't take me that long to write.**_


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: The future

"I hereby pronounce this couple husband and wife," said the head elder. Everything over the past week had led up to this moment, the most anticipated marriage in all of Hyrule. Link and Ruto gently kissed, and applause rose up all around. Link and Ruto, were now husband and wife, in a happy marriage.

As they walked out of the old church building built the the god of light, they were met by Zelda and others. Zelda was smiling, despite herself, and said, "Congratulations, both of you! I am so happy to see that you both are getting together after such difficult hardships."

Ruto smiled and said, "I thank you for your perseverance in these hard times. Without you, this war might have been for nothing."

Link said, "Yes, without you, we would have failed in the light temple."

She had already revealed the truth that she was really Sheik, and had showed the Triforce of Wisdom on her hand. Zelda smiled and said, "Today is perhaps one of the greatest days that Hyrule has ever experienced. The marriage of Link to one of the most unseen heroes of our time. This is a great time, a time to be happy and rejoice."

Link asked, "Is that why you're so happy, even though you're still jealous?"

Zelda said, "Oh, pssh. I've already found someone I like..."

The commander walked up and Link couldn't help but laugh. Zelda asked, "What's so funny?"

Link shook his head and said, "Well, I'm glad you found someone you else you like, even if he's a commoner."

Zelda said, "Well, Ruto got married to you, and you're a commoner, technically."

Link said, "That's true."

They talked for hours, and when the time came to leave, Ruto and Link left in a carriage back to his village. This was the place where he, the king of the Zoras, would set up his throne, and would have Ruto at his side. As they rode into town, familiar faces began poking out, staring in wonder as the one boy that they had never thought would amount to anything returned, now a man and a hero, with his bride at his side.

They stepped out of the carriage at his house, and a familiar face came walking up. Link had just undone Epona from the carriage, when his own uncle came up. He was beaming as he said, "Link, I think you've proven yourself in just the way I thought you would."

Link felt a great feeling of joy overwhelm him and he said, "Uncle...thank you again for being there. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be the man I am now."

He walked up and embraced his uncle. Ruto smiled and said, "I'm glad for you, love."

Link stepped back, and then said, "I think we have introductions to make. Ron, this is my wife, Ruto."

Ron was startled by Link's sudden presentation, and he said, "It is...a pleasure to meet my...um...niece in law?"

Ruto giggled and said, "Yes, I suppose I am. Pleased to meet you, Ron."

Link looked up into the sky, and could have sworn that he saw several figures in the sky, admiring him. They were the heroes of old, and they were smiling down at the newest and perhaps greatest one out of them all. Link smiled back, and then said, "Well, Ron, I hope you're ready for some more work. We have a throne to build and a city to start...right here."

_**Story done! Yes! If you want to give me a personal review of how you liked the entire story, you can either place it in a review, or send me a PM. Either one works just fine. Thanks to MarioDS01 yet again for supporting me a great deal in this story. In addition to being the No. 1 reviewer of my story, he has helped me with quite a few of the dungeons. Thanks once again, MarioDS01. I hope to see you and everyone else who has read this story in my next fan fic, starring Sonic the Hedgehog! See you all later. DarkCloud780.**_


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